Arpheus' Aurora
by StarSource
Summary: My submission to MyWayWriter's challenge. I don't think any summary is needed, since I don't want to give anything away. This is going to be more than one chapter!
1. Finding Home

**Well here is my character: Arpheus! Hopefully she will make the cut ;). This a multi-chapter story. It's probably going to be three chapters, if everything goes as planned.  
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**Arpheus**

It was cold night in the penguin nation known as Emperor Land. It was a bit windy, but despite the weather the sky was as clear as the calm ocean. Mumble was heading back home, as he just spent the day swimming with his son Erik. Mumble was really proud of the penguin Erik turned out to be and he was thankful he had such a strong bond with his son. He really did have a wonderful family.

*Sobs*

"I don't want her!"

Mumble was suddenly broken out of his thoughts. He immediately began to search for the source of this commotion; Mumble had a feeling this wasn't going to turn out well. He waddled through Emperor Land as fast as could, but he couldn't seem to locate, where the scream came from. Since he was close to the border of Emperor Land, he decided to search the perimeter. He started to hear mumbles and muffled screams, but he couldn't make out the words. Mumble was coming up to a small basin that was barely outside to Emperor Land. Mumble was walking along a huge wall of ice and the further he walked, the more he could hear. He finally reached the end of the ice wall and peeked around the corner. Mumble saw two adult penguins, one male and one female, and one chick. The chick had tears falling out of its eyes, while the two adult penguins seemed to be arguing. Mumble put his back against the wall and stopped peeking around the corner; He began to listen to the conversation.

"She has no talent! She refuses to sing or do anything!" The male penguin screamed.

"How can you say that?! She is your daughter!" The female penguin retorted.

"Don't ever say that! My daughter would have a beautiful voice and she definitely would not have those weird eyes!"

Mumble then heard water splash, followed by another. Mumble peeked around the corner again to see that the two adult penguins were not there anymore, he presumed they had gone out to swim, as they left their chick alone. The chick was backed up against the ice, crying and weeping. Mumble knew he had to get home soon, but he knew what it was like to feel unwanted; He felt a deep responsibility to help this chick. "Hello?" Mumble said as he came around the corner.

The chick immediately opened her eyes and saw Mumble standing there. Mumble had never seen a penguin with that color of eyes before, it was stunning. The chick had a mix of aurora like and blue and green in his/her eyes. Mumble saw that the chick was frozen in fear.

"You don't have to be afraid. I won't hurt you." Mumble said. He saw the chick visibly relax, but his/her eyes still held fear and sadness. This chick reminded Mumble of his own childhood. "You know you have pretty eyes." Mumble said in a sweet voice as he inched closer to the frightened chick.

"T-Thank y-you." The small chuck stuttered out.

"You don't have to be scared. I promise I won't hurt you." Mumble said in a soothing voice. This time, the chick let out a big breath of air out as he/she relaxed and settled down. Mumble noticed the chick was now breathing normally again, instead of breathing in quick repetitions.

"W-Who are y-you?" The small chick asked.

"My name is Mumble" Mumble said. He saw the little chick's eyes widen. "So what's your name?" Mumble asked.

"A-Arpheus" The chick said.

Mumble concluded that this chick was female due to her name, voice, and looks. He was slowly approaching Arpheus to make sure she doesn't run off. He didn't want to do anything too reckless to scare her.

"Wow, that's a really pretty name." Mumble said in a honest tone.

"*Sniffle* You really think so?" Arpheus asked.

"Of course I do." Mumble said. He was now close enough to Arpheus for him to carefully wipe the leftover tears, she had in her eyes. She was still shaking a bit, but for the most part she was calm.

Every Emperor penguin, regardless or age, had heard of Mumble and his accomplishments, Arpheus was no different in this regard. She had heard his name a few times and even some of the stories. Arpheus felt a lot safer now, so she completely relaxed; She wiped the rest of her tears and looked at Mumble.

"So are you the Mumble I've heard about, the one that dances and stuff right?" Arpheus asked.

Mumble smiled at the curiosity of the little chick. Instead of answering her with words, he decided to do something different. Mumble started tapping a beat and soon got into a rhythm. Soon enough, Mumble was tapping a song right in front of the chick.

Arpheus was awestruck by what she was witnessing. She had never seen a penguin dance like Mumble can. The rhythm was so infectious, that Arpheus couldn't help, but to stand up and move to it. As Mumble kept tapping, Arpheus wanted to do the same. She looked at her feet and started tapping a bit. Little by little, Arpheus got more and more comfortable. Arpheus was now trying to keep up with Mumble.

This put a smile on Mumble's beak. She was getting the hang of it pretty quickly, but it was her first time trying this. Mumble then finished the song and saw that Arpheus was still tapping. He silently watched her tap for a bit, until she took notice that he had stopped. Arpheus immediately stopped tapping.

"Sorry..." Arpheus said. She had gotten carried away by the happy feeling, dancing gave her.

"No don't be. You were amazing!" Mumble said.

"Really?" Arpheus asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, you got the hang of it pretty quickly." Mumble replied.

New tears sprung out of her eyes, as she ran to Mumble and attached herself to his leg. No one has ever complimented her, except her mother. She was always in the back of the class and no one seemed to want to be friends with her. Arpheus, also, refused to perform or even practice in class due to her conservative nature. That's why she only went to a few classes, then stopped going. Arpheus felt very comfortable around Mumble, even though she has only been around him for a bit. Something about him, really made her feel right at home. "Thanks." Arpheus whispered.

Mumble was taken aback by the sudden action the young chick took, but he felt she needed someone to care for her. She really reminded him of how lonely he used to be as a chick. Her parents weren't back yet and he knew he couldn't leave her out here alone. Mumble caressed her fuzzy head with his flipper and looked down at the little chick. "Arpheus don't cry, it's okay." Mumble comforted. Arpheus sniffled and looked up at the Emperor penguin. Mumble lowered his head and nuzzled her head with his beak in an affectionate gesture and then wiped away her tears. It was of no use though, as new tears came out and now Arpheus had a smile on her beak. Mumble chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Arpheus asked in her naturally squeaky voice.

"Oh nothing you need to worry about." Mumble said. He turned as if he was going to leave.

"Wait! You're not leaving are you?" Arpheus desperately asked.

"No not right now, but I will have to in a little bit." Mumble said. He immediately saw Arpheus' eyes droop down in sadness. Mumble really didn't want to leave her here, but he couldn't take her from her parents could he? "But you can with me if you want." Mumble said. He decided to let her have the choice of whether to come with him or stay, since she obviously didn't have the loving family she deserved.

"You mean it?" Arpheus asked in an excited voice.

"Of course I do silly!" Mumble said in playful voice. Mumble heard the water splash again, so he turned around to see the two adult penguins spring out of the water. He knew something was about to happen, but, no matter what, Mumble knew he had to keep Arpheus safe. Arpheus' eyes widened in fear and she hugged Mumble's leg tighter.

"Arpheus what are you doing?" The male penguin said in a stern voice. "Get over here." He commanded.

"I'm sorry if she bothered you." The female penguin said with an apologetic tone.

Arpheus was frozen at the moment. She was hoping it wouldn't come down to some sort of confrontation.

"No its okay, she hasn't bothered me at all." Mumble said in an even toned voice.

"Arpheus stop this nonsense and get over here. We're leaving." The male penguin again commanded.

"Wait. Are you Mumble HappyFeet?" The female penguin said as she took a closer look at him.

"Yeah..." Mumble said.

"Oh where are my manners? I'm Alexandria, nice to meet you." Alexandria said in an excited tone.

"You too." Mumble said.

"Arpheus honey, can you let go of Mumble's leg?" Alexandria said in a sweet tone.

"N-No." Arpheus responded.

"No?! What do you mean no! We are leaving right now!" The male penguin screamed, earning a flinch from Arpheus.

"Don't you dare scream at her!" Alexandria immediately screamed back, when she saw how her daughter retracted in fear.

The male penguin stormed past them and was out of sight.

"Don't mind him, he's just frustrated." Alexandria said.

"H-he doesn't want me." Arpheus mumbled.

Alexandria stayed quiet at that statement; because she knew Arpheus was right. Alexandria wished she could give Arpheus the love that she deserved, but she knew she couldn't provide a good environment.

"He really doesn't see your daughter's talents. She's really good at dancing." Mumble explained. He really disliked Arpheus' father. Mumble knew what it was like to have a father disapprove of him, because of something that wasn't his fault.

"She danced?" Alexandria said. Mumble nodded. "Arpheus can you show mommy how to dance?" Alexandria said in a soft voice.

Arpheus let go of Mumble's leg and walked towards her mother. She closed her eyes and began finding the same rhythm she had before, then she started tapping to it. Arpheus suddenly heard some tapping next to her. At first she thought it was Mumble, but she was surprised to see it was her mother that was tapping with her. Arpheus giggled and danced; she was having a great time with her mother and Mumble. Arpheus was having so much fun; she lost focus and was starting to lose her balance. She felt herself completely lose balance and fall, but she didn't feel the cold hard ice. In fact, she felt warm and fluffy feathers. Arpheus turned her head and saw Mumble's blue eyes looking at her; she noticed her head was resting on Mumble's flipper and Mumble was on his belly. Arpheus giggled and stood up.

"Thanks Mr. Mumble." Aprheus said in a cute voice. She went up to Mumble's face and hugged him. She then got on his head and started giggling as she looked down at Mumble's eyes. "Hi!" Arpheus said, from the top of his head. She got s grumble as a response, which made her giggle that much more.

Alexandria was watching, in amazement, at how fast Arpheus' relationship with Mumble has progressed. Arpheus seemed to be very open and comfortable around Mumble, just like a family. "Arpheus that was great!" Alexandria said.

"You really think so?" Aprheus asked as she got off of Mumble.

"Yes definitely." Alexandria said.

Aprheus went up to her mother and hugged her leg. Alexandria was looking down at Arpheus with thoughtful eyes. Alexandria knew how to give Arpheus the proper care she deserved, but it wasn't going to be easy. She had noticed how well Arpheus seemed to get along with Mumble, so now she just had to ask Mumble a question.

Mumble got up from the ground and was now standing and watching Arpheus and her mother. He saw that Arpheus cared deeply for her mother, so he was starting to regret his offer.

"Hey ma?" Arpheus called.

"Yes Arpheus?" Alexandria answered.

"Mumble said I could go with him if I wanted to, can I? Just for a little while?" Arpheus asked.

Alexandria wasn't aware that Mumble had already offered her a place with him, but that makes her decision a bit easier. It was never easy for a mother to let go, especially so early.

Mumble, on the other hand, stiffened. He didn't want to cause a rift in the family and he was definitely not looking into stealing someone's chick. He just didn't know how Alexandria would take it.

"Well of course you can Arpheus, in fact how would you like to stay with Mumble for more than a little while?" Alexandria asked in a sweet voice.

Mumble was really surprised that Alexandria was actually encouraging Arpheus to go live with him, but under the obvious circumstances concerning the father figure it was understandable. He really admired Alexandria for this, it takes a true mother to give up her own daughter, so that she can have a successful life.

"Yeah that would be awesome." Arpheus was beaming with excitement and happiness.

"You can come by anytime you want Alexandria." Mumble said.

"Thank you Mumble, please take care of her." Alexandria said, as she approached him and embraced him. Tears were slowly flowing from her eyes.

"I will. I promise. Take care of yourself." Mumble said.

Arpheus was too young to fully comprehend what was going on, so she just had a big smile on her beak. She was excited to go with Mumble, the hero of Emperor Land. She had no idea how much this little incident would change her life.

"Now Arpheus, you behave well for Mumble okay honey?" Alexandria said.

"Okay mommy." Arpheus said.

"Just always remember one thing." Alexandria said.

"What's that?" Arpheus asked.

"I love you. Don't let anybody tell you different." Alexandria said as she caressed Arpheus' beak with her own.

"Okay I promise." Arpheus said.

Arpheus went over to Mumble and attached herself to his leg again. Mumble and Alexandria were chuckling at the scene.

"Can you carry me, please?" Arpheus said, as she gave Mumble the "puppy eyes".

Mumble couldn't resist those amazing eyes she had and he eventually gave in. "Okay, okay. We gotta get going though." Mumble said.

"Yay!" Arpheus celebrated her recent victory. "I'll see you later ma!" Arpheus said.

"Okay honey, see you later." Alexandria said.

Mumble was now waddling towards Emperor Land with Aprheus latched on to his leg. He wondered how Gloria would react to them having another chick. He looked down at Arpheus to see if she was okay and she was looking up at him with those beautiful aurora-like eyes. Her eyes were barely open though, she was slowly falling asleep. Mumble knew he would have to carry her with his flippers, so he stopped. "Here Arpheus." Mumble said as he extended his flipper to her.

Arpheus grumbled a bit and rubbed her eyes. She grabbed on to Mumble's flipper and immediately felt herself being pulled up. Before she knew it, Arpheus was almost at face level with Mumble. "Woah! Haha!" Arpheus giggled at this new experience; She's never been carried like this before. It didn't last long though as a yawn progressed into a deep sleep.

Mumble knew they were almost there, so he looked down to check on Arpheus again. To his surprise, the little bundle of energy in his flippers fell asleep. He couldn't understand why her father held such contempt for her. In Mumble's eyes she was really a one of a kind chick. Mumble saw that they had finally arrived home. Gloria was standing outside their cave.

"Mumble!" Gloria called as she went to give him a hug. "Where have you been?!" Gloria asked in a stern tone. She hadn't noticed that Mumble was carrying a chick in his flippers.

"Shhh. Gloria she's asleep." Mumble said.

"What do you-" Gloria stopped mid-sentence. She noticed Mumble's eyes were not looking at her, instead his eyes were directed at the chick, who was asleep in his flippers. Gloria couldn't take her eyes off the little chick, she was adorable. "Mumble...how?" Gloria asked in a hushed voice.

"Let's put her to sleep and I'll tell you." Mumble said. He leaned forward and caressed her neck with his. He then handed over the chick to her.

"She's gorgeous." Gloria said.

"Wait 'till you see her eyes." Mumble said.

"What's her name?" Gloria asked.

"Arpheus." Mumble answered.

"Arpheus..." Gloria said the name a couple times. It was a beautiful name for a chick and it perfectly fit the chick that was currently asleep in her flippers. Gloria was still wondering how this came to be, but she knew an explanation would come later.

Gloria and Mumble went in to their cave and put Arpheus to sleep. Mumble told Gloria how he ended up meeting Arpheus and then taking her. It was somewhat similar to how they ended up with Age, but at the same time very different. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day, so they turned in for the night.

Arpheus was deep asleep with a smile on her beak. She had so many questions that lacked answers and she just could not wait until tomorrow. She went on to dream about, a life filled with dancing and happiness.

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**So please leave a review of what you think about this new character! ;).**


	2. Flourishing Aurora

**Here is another chapter! I gotta warn you, this is a long one. Over 9k words! Hope you enjoy ;).  
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The sun rose in its usual magnificent manner, spreading light and warmth to every penguin in Emperor Land. The light eventually made its way into Arpheus' new home; the light reflected of the ice in the cave and shone on the eyes of a small, sleeping chick.

Arpheus groaned a bit and tried shifting away from the light, but it was no use. Arpheus slowly fluttered her eyes open and found herself in unfamiliar territory. She took a long look around to see if she recognized anything with no avail. Arpheus shook herself awake and started waddling around this new environment. She was admiring how pretty the ice looked, when the light reflected off of it in different colors; She then heard some voices. Arpheus started making her way towards the voices she was hearing; She soon found an opening in the cave that led to a bigger area in the cave. Arpheus walked through and immediately saw Mumble interacting with another penguin. Arpheus had a feeling the penguin was female. She saw that that they had noticed she was here.

"Good morning Arpheus." Mumble greeted.

"Hi." Arpheus said shyly. She was hugging the ice wall next to her out of fear and stress. She still didn't know who this other penguin was. She noticed the other penguin was making her way towards her. Arpheus stiffened.

"Hey Arpheus, I'm-" Gloria didn't get chance to finish.

"H-how do you know my n-name?" Arpheus stuttered out. She was breathing in hasty short breaths.

"Arpheus it's okay." Gloria said in a soothing tone. It broke her heart to see a chick react like this. She tried to come closer, but Arpheus kept backing away from her and now she was against a wall. "Please don't be scared. I'm here to help you." Gloria said. She could see tears starting to leak out of Arpheus' eyes.

Arpheus wasn't good with strangers. Her father had strictly taught her not to talk with strangers, because they would do bad things to her. What her father told her, scared Arpheus enough. Her heart was beating very fast, but she couldn't back up anymore since there was a wall behind her. Arpheus then saw Mumble walking towards her, so she took a chance and darted away towards Mumble. She attempted to hide herself behind Mumble.

"Arpheus it's okay." Mumble said, while soothingly caressing her head with his flipper. He felt Arpheus stop shaking and heard her take a deep breath. "This is my mate, Gloria." Mumble said.

Arpheus had also heard of Gloria, since she had the best voice in the nation. Arpheus had never seen Gloria, but she had heard plenty about her from her mother and other penguins. She was supposedly the best singer in the nation with an amazing voice that only comes through every millennium. Arpheus sniffled a bit and relaxed.

"I-I'm sorry, it's just my pa..." Arpheus said. She didn't bother to elaborate her vague statement. She heard footsteps and then a flipper on her head. She looked up to see Gloria smiling down at her with a loving expression.

"It's okay Arpheus." Gloria said in her always soothing voice.

Arpheus slowly waddled her way to Gloria and looked up at her with a big smile. Hey eyes were still held tears, but she quickly wiped them away.

"Wow Arpheus, your eyes..." Gloria stopped in mid-sentence to admire them. "They're so beautiful." Gloria said.

"You really think so?" Arpheus asked. Many chicks and penguins had made snide comments about her and her eyes, so she was under the impression they were not appealing.

"Of course I do." Gloria answered.

Arpheus hugged Gloria's leg. Gloria reminded her of her mother, so caring and sweet. She felt Gloria's flipper going down her back in a soothing gesture. Arpheus had got so caught up in the moment that she completely forgot about her hunger.

"Umm?" Arpheus called.

"It's okay Arpheus, just call me Gloria if you want." Gloria explained.

"Umm okay. Gloria I'm kind of hungry." Arpheus said in a weak voice. She didn't feel comfortable calling her by that name, but for now it would do.

"Oh, then come on. Let' go get you something." Gloria said. She noticed Mumble was just standing there, apparently frozen. "Are you coming Mumble?"

"Uhh yeah..." Mumble said.

Just as they started walking, two little chicks were walking in and making a lot of sound. Arpheus noticed that both of them had blue eyes, just like Mumble does. She immediately tried to hide herself behind Gloria.

"Hey ma!" Jake shouted.

Arpheus saw the two chicks getting closer and closer. She clutched on to Gloria's leg tighter and tighter as both of the chicks approached.

Gloria immediately noticed Arpheus' reaction and decided to help her a bit. "Hey Jake and Gab! I want you guys to meet someone." Gloria said. She gave Arpheus a gentle push, so that she could be seen. "Arpheus this is our son and grandson." Gloria said as she pointed to each one.

"Hi! I'm Jake."

"And I'm Gabriel."

"H-hello." Arpheus whispered. She was shaking from the nerves she was feeling. She had never really interacted with other chicks before; all they used to do was make fun of her, so she avoided just about everybody. Arpheus was facing away from them, so they couldn't see her eyes.

"Ma is she okay? She's kind of shaking." Jake asked.

"Yeah she's just a bit shy that's all." Gloria said.

Gab walked up to Arpheus. "So what's your name?" Gab asked. He got no response, so he tapped her shoulder to see if she was still paying attention.

Arpheus jumped out of her skin, when Gab touched her. She was now facing them with wide eyes that held fear in them. Arpheus didn't realize that she was showing her eyes to everyone, until she noticed the two chicks were staring at her.

"Woah you're that chick with the eyes." Gab said.

"Yeah, yeah I remember you!" Jake said.

Arpheus immediately went into panic mode and started waddling as fast as she could towards an exit. She heard Mumble and Gloria call out to her, but she kept going. She wasn't looking where she was going and, before she knew it, she bumped into someone. Arpheus fell on her back and heard the other chick groan. She shook her head and got up quickly to see if who she had bumped into.

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and I-" Arpheus started explaining.

"It's okay. Just be a bit more careful okay?" The other chick said with a chuckle and a smile.

Arpheus was completely taken back by the tone and attitude of the chick. His soft voice made her feel very comfortable. She thought he was going to furious. Arpheus got a good look at the chick as he got up and shook the snow off of himself.

"Hey I remember you." The other chick said. "You're the chick with the really cool eyes and the pretty name, Arpheus right?"

Arpheus was taken aback by the sudden compliments. She didn't notice, but she was blushing quite a bit.

"Y-you know me?" Arpheus asked.

"Well not really." The chick said sheepishly. "I guess your name just stuck with me." The chick explained. The chick saw that Arpheus still had her guard up, so he decided to introduce himself. "I'm Aaron by the way."

"You really think my eyes are cool?" Arpheus blurted out with a blush.

"Yeah, I-"

"Arpheus! Are you okay?" Mumble asked as he came up to her.

"Yeah...My head hurts a little."

"Hey Aaron!" Jake and Gab greeted.

"Hey guys. Hi Mrs. Gloria and Mr. Mumble" Aaron greeted.

"Oh Aaron, we've told you not call us that. Its too formal." Gloria said.

"Sorry." Aaron said sheepishly.

Arpheus couldn't help, but stare at Aaron as he greeted everyone. Her stomach felt funny every-time she would think about him. Something about Aaron really sparked her interest. Arpheus couldn't understand why she felt this way, but it didn't feel bad at all.

"Hey Arpheus are you alright?" Mumble asked.

Arpheus shook her head and looked at Mumble. "Yeah, I'm fine." Arpheus answered.

"You know, they're not going to hurt you." Mumble said.

"Yeah I know...It's just..." Arpheus said.

She knew they weren't going to hurt her, but she couldn't help but feel a bit shy. She had never had any friends before. Every chick she had met had only made fun of her eyes.

"It's okay Arpheus, we can talk about it later if you want." Mumble said. "Besides you have to get ready for school."

Arpheus gave him a surprised look. "Do I have to?" Arpheus whined. To the few classes she had gone too, Arpheus had not exactly had a good experience. She was always in the back of the class alone.

"Of course you do. You want to learn how to sing right?" Mumble said.

Arpheus nodded in response.

"Then let's get going." Mumble said.

"Hey Arpheus! You want to come with us? To school?" Aaron asked.

Arpheus wasn't sure of how to answer the question. She really wanted to go along with Aaron, but she had never had any friends before. She looked at Mumble with unsure eyes asking for an answer.

"Ummm..." Arpheus was still unsure.

"I think that is a great idea Aaron." Gloria said. She put a comforting flipper on Arpheus' back.

"So Arpheus what do you say?" Mumble asked.

"Y-yeah sure." Arpheus said.

"Awesome." Aaron said. He flashed Arpheus a smile.

"Cool." Jake said.

"We have to get going. We're going to be late!" Gabriel said.

"Come on!" Aaron said as he ran up to Arpheus, grabbed her flipper, and started dragging her away.

Arpheus felt that weird feeling again as Aaron was holding her flipper. She felt kind of happy though, so she went along with them. Arpheus was glad that she had at least one friend.

The three chicks started off the walk in complete silence.

"Hey Arpheus, sorry about scaring you back there." Jake said.

"Yeah, we really didn't mean to." Gab said.

"It's okay, I just haven't really had any friends...Usually others just make fun of my eyes." Arpheus explained quietly.

"Why would they make fun of your eyes? I think they look awesome!" Jake said.

"Yeah, our eyes are different too. We have blue eyes, but your eyes are something else." Gab said.

"Really? Thanks!" Arpheus said excitedly.

"Don't listen to those bullies Arpheus. Your eyes are really pretty. They look like pretty lights you see sometimes in the night sky." Aaron said.

Arpheus immediately blushed at Aaron's compliment. She was, yet again, surprised at how comfortable Aaron made her feel.

"Jake! Gab! Aaron! Hey over here!" A high pitched voice called.

"Hey Syrena. Hey Kourtney." Jake greeted.

As the other three chicks walked towards the two female chicks, Arpheus stayed back unsure of what to do. She noticed Aaron was walking back towards her instead of going along with Jake and Gab.

"Arpheus what's wrong?"

"..." Arpheus stayed quiet.

"Syrena and Kourtney are friends of ours. They're not gonna bite." Aaron said with a goofy smile.

Arpheus relaxed and giggled a bit.

"Now come on. I promise they won't make fun of you." Aaron said as he grabbed her flipper. "And if they do, I'll protect you." Aaron said with a small wink.

"Okay, if you say so." Arpheus said whilst giggling.

With that the two chicks the two chicks walked off flipper in flipper.

"Hey Aaron what took you so long?" Kourtney asked.

"Nothing, but I got someone who I want you to meet." Aaron said as he gently pulled Arpheus in front of him.

"H-hi my name is Arpheus." Arpheus said with a bit of difficulty.

"Hi Arpheus, I'm Syrena and she's-" Syrena was cut off.

"I'm Kourtney! Nice to meet you." Kourtney said in an excited tone. "Wow your eyes are so pretty!"

"Yeah, there's so many colors." Syrena said.

"T-thank y-you." Arpheus said.

"She's staying with me, ma, and pa for a while. So I guess she's my sister for now." Jake said, while putting his flipper around Arpheus' shoulder.

"Really?! That means we get to be like sisters!" Syrena said,

The two female chicks virtually threw Jake off of her Arpheus and snatched her away from the group, They quickly made their escape from the boys and headed towards the school

"Where are they going with her?" Aaron asked.

"Uh probably to school. Geez they didn't have to be so rough." Jake whined as he got up.

"Well then let's get going. We're going to be late if we don't hurry up!" Gab said.

Arpheus was confused at what had happened. She just knew that she wasn't with Aaron, Jake, and Gab anymore, rather she was with Kourtney and Syrena. Arpheus barely knew them, so she was a bit nervous.

"Umm where are we going?" Arpheus asked.

"To our classes duh." Syrena said playfully.

"Oh okay." Arpheus said.

"So is Uncle Mumble your pa?" Kourtney asked.

Arpheus was about to answer, but stopped and thought about it. She had never had a real father in her life and, even though she had only known Mumble for a day, he was the only father figure she had in her life. "Yeah...I guess he is." Arpheus answered in thoughtful tone.

"Oh cool. So your pa is my grandpa." Syrena said.

"That means we're pretty much family!" Kourtney said as she lunged forward to hug Arpheus.

Arpheus was frozen in conflicting emotions. She was first paralyzed by fear and confusion, but part of her wanted to return the affectionate gesture. She barely knew this chick, yet here she was hugging her and claiming to be family.

"Kourtney you're scaring her! Stop!" Syrena said as she tried to pry Kourtney off of the shocked Arpheus.

"Oh! Oops! Sorry Arpheus. Got too excited." Kourtney said.

"I-it's okay. I'm happy we're friends too." Arpheus said. As soon as she said that, she felt herself being tackled to the ground.

"Kourtney!" Syrena shouted.

"Right sorry!." Kourtney apologized.

"Don't worry about her Arpheus. She just gets carried away that's all." Syrena explained.

"Yeah sorry again." Kourtney said.

Arpheus giggled a bit. "I told you it's okay, now let's keep going or we're going to be late." Arpheus said in a happy tone. It felt good knowing there are people who genuinely cared about you.

The three chicks made it to the school just in time. Syrena and Kourtney told Arpheus that the class was organized in alphabetical order from left to right. Syrena and Kourtney went off to their respective spots, while Arpheus started looking for hers. She was having no luck though, because she didn't know anyone there and she was too shy to ask for names. Arpheus eventually stumbled on the teacher, Mrs. Viola. Arpheus immediately felt intimidated.

"Can't seem to find you seat I see?" Mrs. Viola said.

"N-no M-mam" Arpheus stuttered out.

"Well what's your name dear?" Mrs. Viola asked.

"A-Arpheus."

"Arpheus..." Mrs. Viola mumbled as she walked past Arpheus.

Arpheus wasn't sure if to follow or not, so she stayed where she was. She saw Mrs. Viola turn around and look at her.

"Well come along." Mrs. Viola said.

Arpheus realized she was supposed to follow Mrs. Viola, so she waddled as fast as she could to her. Arpheus noticed Mrs. Viola stop at the front row.

"Here we are." Mrs. Viola said. "You are right here Arpheus."

"Thank you Mrs..." Arpheus said.

"You can call me Mrs. Viola dear" Mrs. Viola said.

"Thanks Mrs. Viola" Arpheus said.

"You are welcome." Mrs. Viola said as she walked away back to to the bottom of the small cave. "Okay today we're-"

"Wait!" A familiar voice shouted.

Jake, Gabriel, and Aaron had just made it to the school. They were all panting a bit.

"Sorry we're late Mrs. Viola." Aaron said.

"That's quite alright, just get to your spots quickly." Mrs. Viola said.

The three male chicks immediately dispersed to their own spots. Arpheus noticed Aaron was waddling towards her and she felt a warm feeling inside of her. Aaron got to his spot, which happened to be right next to Arpheus.

"Hey Arpheus!" Aaron greeted with a smile.

"H-hi Aaron." Arpheus greeted with a bit of a stutter.

"You know you don't have to be nervous around me right?" Aaron said, noticing Arpheus' stutter.

"Yeah, it's just..." Arpheus trailed off.

"What?" Aaron asked. He really wanted to know why she was so scared.

"Nothing..." Arpheus said quickly.

Arpheus was hoping he wouldn't pursue, but she saw he was about to say something else. Arpheus was trying to think of what she would say to explain herself. She didn't want to talk about her past.

"Aaron! Since you are already talking, won't you be our first volunteer?" Mrs. Viola said sternly.

"Uhh yes ma'am." Aaron responded. He was guessing that they had to sing a song, since he wasn't listening to what they were supposed to be doing.

Arpheus took a breather; she knew she got lucky. As Aaron was walking up to where Mrs. Viola was, Arpheus started hearing murmurs among the class, especially the female portion, about Aaron. She heard nothing, but compliments concerning his voice and everything else about him. From what Arpheus could gather, Aaron was one of the top singers in the class. _(Jason Mraz - I won't give up)._

**Aaron:**_ When I look into your eyes_  
_It's like watching the night sky_  
_Or a beautiful sunrise_  
_There's so much they hold_  
_And just like them old stars_  
_I see that you've come so far_  
_To be right where you are_  
_How old is your soul?_

Aaron started off with a low, deep, beautiful voice that seemed to go on forever. Arpheus was immediately mesmerized by his stunning voice. She felt a good warm feeling inside as he sang. Arpheus noticed she wasn't the only one, everyone seemed to be in a trance. Arpheus was now staring at Aaron without noticing that he was looking back at her.

_I won't give up on us_  
_Even if the skies get rough_  
_I'm giving you all my love_  
_I'm still looking up_

Aaron raised his voice just a bit, but he still retained that deep reverberating voice. Arpheus suddenly noticed that Aaron was looking at her, so she immediately looked away. She was still stunned by the song.

_And when you're needing your space_  
_To do some navigating_  
_I'll be here patiently waiting_  
_To see what you find_

_'Cause even the stars they burn_  
_Some even fall to the earth_  
_We've got a lot to learn_  
_I knows we're worth it_  
_No I won't give up_

Aaron suddenly raised his voice and hit his pitch perfectly. When he did that, Arpheus turned around to look at him in complete astonishment. She hadn't heard many penguins sing, since she was so young and didn't got to school, but regardless Aaron's voice was just mesmerizing to her. Something about it was just so alluring and beautiful. When Aaron finished, Arpheus was just staring at him an unconscious smile on her beak.

"Very well done Aaron." Mrs. Viola said.

"Thank you Mrs. Viola" Aaron responded.

Arpheus noticed Aaron was walking back towards her, so she immediately stopped looking at him. She was still listening to the giggles and whispers behind her. The whispers immediately ceased once Aaron got to his spot.

"So what did you think?" Aaron asked.

Arpheus snapped out of her daze and saw that Aaron was asking her a question. "Uhh..."

"I thought it was just beautiful" A female voice interrupted.

"Oh thanks Eileen" Aaron said.

"Aaron you want to play after class?" Eileen asked.

"Sorry I can't. I'm going to walk Arpheus home." Aaron responded.

"Arpheus? Who's Arpheus?" Eileen asked in a slightly bitter tone.

"She is." Aaron responded as he pointed to Arpheus, who was next to him.

Eileen suppressed a laugh. "What's wrong with your eyes? They're so freaky."

"Nothing..." Arpheus said quietly.

"Weird colors." Eileen muttered.

Arpheus knew it was always like this; she was all too familiar with other people thinking she was weird for her eyes. She really wished she didn't have them. Arpheus' line of sight drooped down along with her shoulders and spirit.

"Well I think they are quite beautiful, like the night sky." Aaron said as he put his flipper around Arpheus' shoulder.

Arpheus immediately felt a lot better when Aaron stood up for her, but it was still very depressing knowing that everyone thinks you are weird. She wanted to hug Aaron, but held the urge.

"Hmph." Eileen walked away to her spot.

"I wish I didn't have these eyes..." Arpheus muttered.

"I don't." Aaron whispered.

Arpheus didn't have time to respond. "Arpheus would you like to go?" Mrs. Viola asked.

"Uhh, but I don't know how to s-sing." Arpheus said in an inaudible voice.

"C'mon Arpheus show them what you can do." Aaron whispered, while taking flipper of her shoulder. He gave her a little push.

"O-okay." Arpheus said.

Arpheus walked along with Mrs. Viola to be in front of the class. Pressure immediately hit her like a ton of bricks. Everyone's eyes were on her right now. Waiting, watching, judging, expecting; this made Arpheus extremely nervous. Her whole body was shaking and she couldn't think straight. She was trying to find somewhere to look for support. She then saw Aaron looking at her with that goofy smile. He nodded at her in encouragement. Arpheus calmed down and stepped forward. She heard the sound her foot making contact with the snow. She immediately got an idea. Arpheus mustered all her confidence and started stepping in a rhythm. As she continued to gain confidence, her steps got louder and faster. Before she knew it, she was tapping an infectious rhythm. Arpheus could see chicks starting moving along to the rhythm. Arpheus then looked at Aaron, who had stepped out of his spot to dance along. This really inspired Arpheus to keep on dancing and tapping.

"Very well done Arpheus, but the task was to sing a song not tap dance." Mrs. Viola said softly. "So please do so."

"Oh s-sorry." Arpheus said.

Arpheus had never tried to sing before. She was always scared to, because her father constantly stressed the need for her to be good at it. She didn't know a song to sing to make matters worse. She looked at Aaron, but he was talking to someone behind him at the moment. Arpheus started to feel alone again; she didn't want to be an outcast or a freak, who couldn't sing. Everyone was waiting for her to sing.

"Uhh..." Arpheus accidentally muttered.

The class burst out into laughter. Arpheus felt like the failure her father always told her she was; she felt like a joke. Tears slowly started streaming out. There demeaning whispers and comments going around the class such as freak or weird eyes. Arpheus couldn't take it anymore, so she ran out through the middle of the class and outside.

"It's not funny!" Aaron shouted.

"Silence!" Mrs. Viola said in icy tone. "Arpheus! Where are you going?!" It was too late though, as Arpheus had already left.

"I'll go get her Mrs. Viola!" Aaron said. Without leaving a chance for a response, he dashed off after Arpheus.

Arpheus kept running until her short fluffy legs couldn't take her further. Tears were streaming out of her eyes. She was panting heavily, but she had to keep moving. Arpheus saw small little crevice a few yards away. She quickly jumped in it, leaned against the icy wall, and buried her head in her fluffy chest.

"Arpheus!" A familiar male voice called out.

Arpheus immediately recognized the voice as Aaron. She was surprised he was taking the time to go find her. She didn't want to answer him though; she just wanted to be alone.

"Arpheus please answer me." Aaron said in a very worried tone.

Arpheus was tempted to answer now, when she heard that tone in Aaron's voice. She hated being a burden to others.

"If it means anything to you, I..." Aaron paused for a bit. "I thought you were awesome. I r-really l-liked it." Aaron said shyly.

Arpheus felt warm and fuzzy inside again; she poked her head out of the crevice to take a look at where Aaron. Unfortunately, Aaron almost immediately spotted her due to her eyes. Arpheus immediately ducked under and tried to hide.

"Arpheus there you are." Aaron said as he waddled towards the crevice in the ground. He looked around and then jumped in with her.

"Please I just want to be alone." Arpheus said in a choked voice.

"What's wrong?" Aaron asked in comforting voice.

"They were laughing at me and calling me names!" Arpheus shouted.

"Its okay calm down. Don't listen to them. I thought-" Aaron was cut off.

"I'm just a freak. I can't do anything..." Arpheus wept.

"No you're not! You're an awesome penguin with pretty eyes and...you're amazing at dancing. You probably have a great voice too!" Aaron said with an assertive tone.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. I couldn't help, but dance along with you. I wanted to hear your voice too." Aaron said as he got closer to her. "So what happened?"

"N-nothing I...just got n-nervous that's all." Arpheus answered.

Aaron gave her a sideways look. "You don't trust me do you?" Aaron asked in a with a downcast look.

"No! n-no it's not that it's...my pa." Arpheus said.

"Your pa? You mean Mr. Mumble?" Aaron asked.

"No my real pa. Mumble just found me and invited me to stay with him." Arpheus explained.

"So why did you tell everyone, that Mumble was your pa?" Aaron asked.

"Because I look up to him as my pa. I just feel like he's the closest thing to a dad I'll ever have." Arpheus explained. She brought her flipper up to wipe a tear that was about to escape her eyes. "My real pa always told me I was a failure at everything. He said that he didn't want me, because I refused to sing."

_Flashback_

_Arpheus was in her home with her father. She was standing in front her father, who was currently evaluating her. Arpheus was breathing in short chaotic breaths and her heart was beating a bit fast._

_"Arpheus why won't you sing!?" A male penguin's voice roared._

_"I-I-" Arpheus tried to say._

_"Why can't you be like other chicks?!" He screamed at her._

_Arpheus broke into tears after hearing those words from her father._

_"Oh great now you're crying! Can't you do anything right?"_

_"P-pa p-"_

_"I don't want to hear it!" He said as he stormed off._

_Arpheus was left all alone with tears all over her feathers. Different negative thoughts and emotions were washing over her at this moment. She was frozen with fear and disappointment in herself._

_Flashback end_

"I-I just d-didn't want to disappoint him or anyone else, but everything I do always turns out bad!" Arpheus said.

"He's wrong Arpheus. You are not useless! Everyone loved your tap dancing, I couldn't stop myself from dancing with you. Just because you got a little nervous doesn't mean you're useless! And don't let anyone every tell you differently!" Aaron said in an assertive tone. He was feeling very conflicted inside himself. He was not the one to get angry with others, but when he heard how Arpheus was treated, his very blood began to boil.

Arpheus took Aaron by surprise by suddenly turning and embracing him.

"Arpheus-"

"Thanks. That really means a lot to me." Arpheus said in a soft voice.

Arpheus felt Aaron return her gesture and soon enough both chicks were lost in each other. Arpheus was incredibly comfortable right now and she didn't want to let go. When both chicks realized what they were doing, they immediately separated with respective blushes.

"I-I'm sorry I-" Aaron couldn't find the words to explain what happened.

"No its fine, it was my fault..." Arpheus said.

There was a small silence between the two.

"We better get back to class." Aaron said.

"Oh yeah. I don't know the way back though." Arpheus said.

"That's why I'm here, now come on." Aaron reminded.

Both chicks got out of the crevice and started heading towards the school.

"You know you never answered me." Aaron said.

"About what?" Arpheus asked.

"About my song. What did you think about it?"

Arpheus took a few seconds to sum her thoughts up. "Well I don't really know how explain it, but it was just...perfect." Arpheus said. "I really liked it."

"Wow I'm really happy you liked it. Thanks." Aaron said.

"I wasn't the only one, everyone else liked it too." Arpheus said.

"Well I'm just happy you liked it." Aaron said with a smile. "So do you have a heart song?"

"Heart song?" Arpheus questioned.

"Yeah it's the song that comes from your heart. You…sing it to the penguin you l-love a-and the songs are supposed to match up." Aaron said with a slight stutter.

Arpheus remembered her mother told her something similar to what Aaron was telling her. "So if I don't have one I nobody will love me?" Arpheus asked in panicked tone.

"No! Your pa didn't have a song at first either and even then he couldn't sing, so you know what he did?" Aaron said.

"What?" Arpheus asked.

"He danced." Aaron said simply.

"He danced his song?" Arpheus asked,

"Yep." Aaron confirmed.

"Wow." Arpheus said in a voice full awe. She made a note to ask Mumble about that later.

"Well looks we got here too late." Aaron said as he saw the chicks leaving the class for their mid-day break.

"Oh...Sorry I made you miss it." Arpheus apologized.

"Nah its fine. It was way more fun being with you." Aaron said, without realizing the implications.

Arpheus blushed a bit, but said nothing.

"Arpheus, Aaron. There you are!" Mrs. Viola said. She walked towards them.

"Sorry for missing class." Aaron apologized.

"Never-mind that right now. Are you two alright?" Mrs. Viola asked.

"Yep!" Aaron answered in a giddy tone.

"Yeah." Arpheus answered. "I-I'm sorry for m-missing class." Arpheus apologized.

"Its okay, but what happened? Your dancing was truly extraordinary. I haven't seen anything like it since Mumble himself." Mrs. Viola said. She lowered her head to Arpheus' level.

"Really?" Arpheus asked in surprise.

"Of course. You were stellar if I don't say so myself." Mrs. Viola said.

"I told you, you were great." Aaron said with his usual smile.

"Thank you." Arpheus said.

"But what happened with the singing portion?" Mrs. Viola asked.

"I...I just got nervous I guess. Everyone usually makes fun of me, because of my eyes. I just didn't want everyone to think I was weird." Arpheus said.

"You're not weird." Aaron emphasized.

"Yes listen to your friend Arpheus. Being yourself is not weird at all. Mumble taught all of us a big lesson in that perspective. Your eyes are lovely by the way, don't let anyone tell you differently." Mrs. Viola said as she lifted her head.

Arpheus was letting everything sink in.

"I assume you will be attending the rest of the day." Mrs. Viola.

"Y-yes ma'am." Arpheus said.

"That's what I like to hear." Mrs. Viola said as she turned around and started walking away.

"Arpheus are you okay?!" Kourtney called as she waddled towards her. Syrena, Jake, and Gab were close behind her.

"Yeah, thanks to Aaron." Arpheus said.

"That's what friends are for." Aaron said.

"I'm glad you're okay." Syrena said.

"You dance really well, just like pa does." Jake said.

"Yeah that was crazy. I've never seen a chick dance like you did!" Gab said.

"It was pretty amazing wasn't it?" Aaron said.

"Definitely." Syrena said.

"I can't believe those jerks were making fun of you, just because you got a little nervous." Kourtney said.

"Yeah it happens to everyone. I don't know what he big deal is." Jake said.

"I'm gonna go over there and-" Kourtney was cut off.

"Kourtney, we both know that's not a good idea." Syrena said in a playful tone.

Kourtney faked a pout.

"Thanks." Arpheus said, while she giggled a bit. "Sorry I missed you guys sing."

"Don't worry about it." Syrena said.

"You'll hear us sing later." Gab said.

"Okay everyone back to class!" Mrs. Viola called.

Everyone went back to class and the rest of the day went by smoothly for Arpheus. She did learn a bit more about what a heart-song is. Even though, it had only been Arpheus' first day, so much has already happened. She gained much needed confidence, thanks to her newly found friends and family. Classes finally ended and she was getting ready to leave.

"You ready to go?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, but where are the others?" Arpheus asked.

"Probably waiting for us outside." Aaron answered.

Arpheus and Aaron walked up and outside the small cave, where they had their classes. Since classes had just ended, most chicks were just walking about and most were in groups talking.

"Hey look it's the weirdo!" Eileen pointed out.

Eileen was very popular, so she had big group of chicks behind her. Eileen and her friends started laughing at Arpheus.

"Hey Eileen! Leave her alone!" Aaron shouted.

"Why do you even talk to her? She's only going to drag you down Aaron." Eileen said.

This comment really hit Arpheus hard. The thought of her bringing down Aaron was a very heavy one. Arpheus started to doubt herself once again.

"If anything, she will help be a better penguin, so I think I'll take my chances." Aaron retorted.

"Eileen you better not be bothering Arpheus!" Syrena warned, as she walked on to the incident along with Jake, Gabriel, and Kourtney.

"I'm just being honest." Eileen said.

"Arpheus will dance circles around you and everyone else here and I bet she sings just as well!" Jake said.

"Besides we all know you're just jealous of Arpheus!" Kourtney said.

"Why would I be jealous of a loser?" Eileen asked.

"Because you like Aaron and Aaron has been with Arpheus all day." Gab said.

"T-That is not true!" Eileen stuttered out.

"Yeah, is that why you are constantly trying to get Aaron to talk to you?" Syrena asked.

"Whatever! Do what you want. I was just saying that she is only going to drag you down." Eileen said as she walked away.

"Arpheus don't listen to her." Syrena said.

"Yeah, she's just jealous that Aaron actually talks to you." Kourtney said.

"Aaron usually doesn't talk to girls since all they want to do is talk to him." Jake teased.

"It's a miracle that he talks to you." Gab said.

"Hey you know that's not true! And how is it my fault that all the girls want to talk to me?" Aaron asked in annoyed tone.

"You tell us. All I know is most of the girls talk about you a lot." Syrena said.

"He's just that amazing. He even has his own fan club" Kourtney said.

"Okay, okay quit it guys." Aaron said.

"Awww is someone getting a little mad?" Syrena taunted.

Everyone busted out laughing; even Arpheus couldn't help but giggle to herself. Aaron face was purely flustered.

"You joined them too Arpheus? Awww now I really am alone." Aaron said in a playful tone.

Arpheus laughed harder. "Well they kind of have a point." Arpheus answered. in between giggles.

"Ha! We got Arpheus on our side now!" Jake said.

They all laughed at themselves and each other.

"C-Can someone show me how to get home?" Arpheus asked shyly. She didn't want to leave her friends, but she really wanted to go back with Mumble.

"Yeah of course. We have to go to the same place anyways!" Jake said playfully.

"My pa and ma are going to be over there, so I guess I'm going with you too." Gab said.

"I guess it is time to go home. I'll see you guys later!" Syrena said.

"Bye Arpheus! It was nice meeting you." Kourtney said.

The chicks started walking towards their respective homes. Arpheus noticed that Aaron was going a different way than everyone else, so she stopped walking and turned around.

"Aaron! Where are you going? Arpheus asked.

"Uhh home I guess. Why?" Aaron asked.

"Well you kind of promised you would take me home..." Arpheus said.

"Oh whoops! I guess I forgot." Aaron said sheepishly as he caught up to her and Jake.

"What about your family?" Gab asked.

"They'll know where I am." Aaron answered.

"Well I guess that settles it." Jake said.

"Then c'mon let's go!" Arpheus said as began to waddle in a random direction. "Uhh which way is it?" Arpheus asked.

The three male chicks chuckled.

"It's this way Arpheus." Aaron said as he started to walk in said direction.

"Oh. Whoops!" Arpheus said.

Arpheus caught up to them immediately.

"What's got you so excited Arpheus?" Jake asked.

"Nothing I'm just...happy." Arpheus answered.

"Why would that be?" Gab asked.

"Because I made friends that see me for who I am." Arpheus answered.

"You mean us?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah!" Arpheus said.

"Yeah I know I'm awesome." Jake said playfully.

"Oh no. Arpheus you have no idea what you started." Gab said.

"Yep, he is going to be like this for a while." Aaron said.

"Like what? It's not my fault I'm just amazing right Arpheus?" Jake asked.

"It's kind of true. He is pretty amazing." Arpheus said in between giggles.

"Awww Arpheus!" Gab whined.

Jake and Arpheus couldn't stop laughing.

"Don't encourage him!" Aaron said playfully.

The four chicks had a few more laughs on their walk. Arpheus was just enjoying this new found friendship with the other chicks. Before she knew it, they had already reached their destination. Some adult penguins, including Mumble and Gloria were waiting outside.

"There they are!" Mumble said.

Arpheus saw the four adult penguins walk towards them, two of them she didn't know.

"So you're the Arpheus I've heard so much about." The Erik said.

"Wow your eyes are gorgeous." The Bo said.

"E-Excuse me but who are you?" Arpheus asked.

"Oh! This is my son, Erik, and Mrs. Viola's daughter, Boadicea." Mumble said.

"Oh H-Hello." Arpheus greeted.

"Pa! Did you know Arpheus can dance like you can?" Jake asked.

"Really? I had no idea." Mumble said. He was feigning ignorance.

Arpheus shot him a look of confusion, which he responded to with a wink.

"Yeah she dances really good!" Gab said.

"Show him what you can do Arpheus!" Aaron said.

"O-okay." Arpheus said with a slight stutter.

Arpheus closed her eyes and tried to find a rhythm. As soon as she found one, Arpheus stepped forward and slowly tapped her rhythm. Once she got comfortable, she sped up. The infectious rhythm spread to everyone around her and they couldn't help, but move to it. It was a mellow kind of rhythm.

**Gloria:**_ Just when you think hope is lost_  
_And giving up is all you got_  
_Blue turns black, your confidence is cracked_  
_There seems no turning back from here_

When Arpheus heard the song she was tapping being sung in front of her, she immediately stopped and looked Gloria in awe. She then saw Mumble tapping her rhythm next to her. He was signaling her to keep going and so she did.

**Bo:**_ Sometimes there isn't an obvious explanation_  
_While the holiest stars can feel the strongest palpitations_

**Gloria and Bo:**_ That's when you can build a bridge of light_  
_That's what turns the wrong so right_  
_That's when you can't give up the fight_  
_That's when love turns night time into day_  
_That's when loneliness goes away_  
_That's why you gotta be strong tonight_  
_Only love can build us a bridge of light_

When they finished, Arpheus was just looking at the two female penguins with a questioning gaze. "How do you know that song?" Arpheus asked.

"Well, because I made it." Gloria answered.

"You made that song?" Arpheus asked in disbelief.

"Yep." Gloria answered.

"But how do you know it Arpheus?" Bo asked.

"My ma used to sing it to me all the time. She said it was one of her favorite songs" Arpheus said.

"Indeed it is." Alexandria said as she walked towards them.

"Mommy!" Arpheus said, while turning around. She ran to her mother and hugged her leg.

"Oh Arpheus I've missed you so much.." Alexandria whispered. "I remember the day you sang it. I'm Alexandria by the way." Alexandria said as she introduced herself to everyone.

"So you are Arpheus' mom?" Gloria asked.

"Yes I am." Alexandria answered.

"It's good to finally meet you." Gloria said.

"Likewise." Alexandria said.

"You have a one of a kind daughter here." Erik said.

"She really is beautiful." Bo said.

"Well thank you. I'm assuming you're Bo and you're Erik right?" Alexandria asked.

"Yeah, but how did you know?" Erik asked.

"Oh come on, the blue eyes gave it away there and your opera singing gives quite the reputation." Alexandria answered.

Erik shyly smiled at the compliment.

"And the free runner of Emperor Land. The fact that you were with him made it clear as well." Alexandria said.

"Wow I'm really humbled." Bo said.

"No I should be the one who is humbled. You are taking care of my daughter after all." Alexandria said.

Arpheus got off her mother's leg and went back to where Jake and Aaron were. She decided to talk to them, while her mother had a conversation with the other adult penguins.

"So that's your ma?" Aaron asked.

"Yep that's her." Arpheus answered.

"So does that mean, you're going away?" Jake asked.

"Umm I don't really know..." Arpheus answered.

"Aaron are you okay?" Jake asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Aaron said in a low voice.

"Hey Jake come here. I gotta tell you something." Mumble called.

"Okay pa." Jake said as he waddled over to him.

"Aaron what's wrong?" Arpheus asked.

"Are you really going to leave?" Aaron asked, while looking away from her.

"I really don't know, but why?" Arpheus asked.

"I...just don't want you to go." Aaron admitted. "I know I've only known you for a day, but I just...don't want you to go." Aaron tried to explain.

"Aaron..." Arpheus muttered. She walked over slowly to him and gave him a warm hug.

"Arpheus what are you-"

"Even if I do go, I promise I'll never forget you." Arpheus whispered.

"Arpheus I-" Aaron was, yet again, cut off.

"Hey guys! I've got something you want to hear!" Jake said as he waddled his way over to them.

Arpheus and Aaron broke the hug and turned to Jake.

"What is it?" Arpheus asked.

"You get to stay with us for a while longer!." Jake announced.

"Really!?" Arpheus asked.

"Yep. Your mama said it." Jake said. "So what's going on over here?" Jake asked.

Jake quickly found himself in a warm embrace with the two other chicks. Jake quickly returned the gesture and all three chicks were giggling and jumping around out of joy.

"Arpheus could you come here for a moment?" Alexandria called.

"Coming ma!" Arpheus said as broke the hug.

Arpheus waddled her way to her mother and the rest of the adult penguins. She looked up at her mother with her aurora like eyes.

"How was your first day here Arpheus?" Alexandria asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Did you like staying here?"

"Well at first there was a lot of penguins I didn't know, so I kind of felt alone." Arpheus explained. "But then I met Jake and Aaron and a lot of other penguins that liked me, so I really like it here." Arpheus said.

"That's great Arpheus! Might those two be some of your friends?" Alexandria asked.

"Oh yeah! Hey Jake and Aaron come here!" Arpheus called.

The two mentioned chicks waddled over there as fast they could.

"This is Jake and this is Aaron." Arpheus said as she receptively pointed to both of them.

"I'm Alexandria. Nice to meet you boys." Alexandria said.

"Same here." Aaron said with his goofy smile.

"So let me ask you something...Has Arpheus gotten into any trouble?" Alexandria asked in a playful tone.

"Maaa!" Arpheus whined.

"Not that I know of." Jake said.

"She might as well be an angel." Aaron joked.

Alexandria chuckled a bit. "So what do you boys think of her?" Alexandria asked.

Arpheus tensed up. Neither one of the chicks wanted to answer that question. They both seemed frozen in place.

"Now don't be shy. I just want an honest answer." Alexandria said.

"W-well I can't answer that yet. I have to get know her better first." Jake said.

"Fair enough. What about you Aaron?" Alexandria asked.

"I...don't know." Aaron said. As soon as he realized what he said, he quickly went to correct himself. "I-I mean I just can't say it in words." Aaron said quickly.

"Just do your best." Alexandria said.

"Well s-she's...I feel like I...I'm sorry. I just can't." Aaron said with a flustered face.

"Its okay Aaron. Do you mind if I ask you one more question?" Alexandria asked.

"Nope." Aaron answered.

"Go ahead." Jake said.

"What do you think of her eyes?" Alexandria asked.

"I think they're cool. They have these pretty colors in them. I just don't see why everyone else makes fun of them, they're awesome." Jake said.

"Her eyes..." Aaron turned to Arpheus and looked into her eyes. "I think they're just like those beautiful lights you see in the sky. There's just so much they hold." Aaron explained.

"An Aurora." Alexandria said.

"Huh?" Aaron said.

"That's what the lights in the night sky are called. Auroras." Alexandria explained. "Well sorry for the questions, but I just wanted to see what you boys were like. I look forward to your answers to that first question." Alexandria said.

Both chicks chuckled a bit.

"Well I probably should get going. It's getting late." Alexandria said as she looked at the sun, which was well past its peak and beginning its decent over the horizon.

"Like I said, you can come by anytime you like." Mumble said.

"Thank you." Alexandria said. She looked down to Arpheus.

"You'll come back again right?" Arpheus asked.

"Of course I will Arpheus." Alexandria answered.

Arpheus hugged her leg and shed a few tears. Alexandria was stroking the back of Arpheus' head with her flipper. Arpheus knew she had to let go, so she slowly detached herself from her mother's leg.

"Bye ma!" Arpheus shouted.

"Bye Arpheus." Alexandria said. "Please take good care of her." Alexandria begged.

"You know we will." Gloria said.

"You and her are part of the family now after all." Erik said.

"We will definitely look out for her Alexandria." Bo said.

"Thank you. All of you." Alexandria said as she walked away.

Arpheus was looking at her mother as she was walking away. She looked in that direction, until she couldn't see her anymore.

"Hey Arpheus. What was with all those questions?" Jake asked.

"Oh that. Sorry she just wants to protect me." Arpheus answered.

"Protect you from what?" Jake asked.

"From others who might want to hurt her Jake." Mumble answered.

"Oh I guess that makes sense." Jake said.

"Aaron where are your parents?" Gloria asked.

"Umm I don't know." Aaron said sheepishly. "I promised to take Arpheus home, plus I'm pretty sure they know I'm here." Aaron explained.

"What makes you say that?" Jake asked.

Just then footsteps could be heard approaching them and, before long, they could see two adult penguins approaching them.

"Aaron how many times have we told you to go straight home after classes?" A female voice said.

"But ma I have a good reason this time." Aaron said.

"I'm sure you do. Sorry to bother you...again." A male voice said.

"Its no problem at all Stefan." Mumble said.

"Are you sure? He hasn't been getting into any trouble has he?" The female penguin asked.

"No Julie, he's been behaving." Gloria said.

"Good. Oh well it seems Aaron made a new friend." Julie said.

"That's what seems like. Aaron would like to introduce us to your new friend?" Stefan asked.

"Oh yeah!" Aaron said. He grabbed Arpheus' flipper and dragged with him towards his parents. "This is Arpheus!." Aaron said.

"Umm h-hello." Arpheus greeted.

"My, what interesting eyes you got there." Stefan said.

"I don't think we've seen you around here. Are you new?" Julie asked.

"Yep." Arpheus answered.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are your parents?" Stefan asked.

"Umm well, right now they are." Arpheus said as she pointed to Mumble and Gloria.

"What do you mean?" Julie asked.

"Why don't you chicks go play inside?" Mumble quickly said.

"Yeah that sounds like a good idea." Gloria said.

"Umm okay." Arpheus said with a confused expression.

The three chicks went inside as the four adult penguins chatted outside.

"What was that all about?" Jake asked.

"Yeah that was weird." Arpheus said. She quickly noticed Aaron was being very quiet. "Aaron do you know?" Arpheus asked.

"Well...my parents don't really like outsiders." Aaron explained.

"What do you mean?" Arpheus asked.

"I mean they don't like penguins from outside Emperor Land." Aaron said. "They might think you're not from here, since you have different eyes." Aaron explained.

Arpheus stayed quiet.

"But it's gonna be okay. Your parents are talking to them, so I bet they'll be okay with you." Aaron quickly said.

"Yeah." Arpheus said in a quiet tone.

"Aww come on Arpheus. It doesn't matter what they think." Jake said, while patting her shoulder.

"Yeah you're right Jake." Arpheus said.

"When am I not?" Jake said.

Arpheus giggled in response. The four adult penguins came in the cave; they were still chatting about something.

"Well it was nice meeting you Arpheus." Stefan said. "Come on Aaron. We're going home." Stefan said

"Okay pa." Aaron said. He turned towards Arpheus and Jake. "Well I guess I'll see you later." Aaron said.

"See ya later Aaron." Jake said.

"Bye Aaron." Arpheus said.

"See you tomorrow." Aaron said as she and his parents walked out of the cave. He flashed them a smile as he walked off.

"Well its been a long day, especially for you Arpheus." Mumble said. "So how about we get something to eat and get some rest?" Mumble asked.

"Sounds like a plan pa." Jake said with a yawn.

"Okay pa!" Arpheus said. She quickly realized what she had called Mumble. "I-I m-mean Mr. Mumble." Arpheus stuttered.

"It's okay Arpheus, you can call me that if you want. You are part of this family after all." Mumble said.

"Thanks...pa." Arpheus said. She went up to Mumble and hugged his leg. A couple of tears managed to escape from her eyes.

"Hey pa? Does that mean I have a sister?" Jake asked.

"It seems that way Jake." Mumble said with a chuckle.

"Yay!" Jake cheered. He waddled to Arpheus, who had let go of Mumble's leg and was standing right next to him, and quickly hugged her.

"I guess I have a brother now." Arpheus said as she returned the gesture.

The two chicks were giggling and jumping around in pure excitement.

"Arpheus and Jake. Come over here and get something to eat." Gloria said.

"Okay!" Both chicks said.

The two siblings waddled as fast as they could to something to eat. Arpheus has finally found that nurturing family she always wanted. She did miss her mother a lot though. Arpheus promised herself to find a way, so that her mother and her could live together again along with this new-found family.

Some weeks and months passed. Arpheus had gained a lot of confidence in herself with the help of her friends. Syrena and Kourtney had a huge part in helping her self-confidence, since they always dragged her along in their little adventures such as pranking other chicks. Jake was just like a brother to her; He often protected and cheered her up, but he sometimes annoyed her just a like brother would. Mumble and Gloria were practically her parents, even though she sometimes hesitates to call Gloria "ma". Erik and Bo were very close to Arpheus as well. Even though a large of part of the class still thought she was a freak, whether it was due to jealousy or just pure resentment, she was making new friends every-day. She eventually met the rest of the penguins in the family such as Age and Hayley. Arpheus instantly had a connection with them and was instantly liked by the entire family. In her classes, most girls were still infatuated with Aaron, which is part of the reason some of them disliked Arpheus, but he didn't seem to pay much attention to them. Instead Aaron looked after Arpheus, because the other female chicks were always trying to bring her down or get her away from him. Arpheus' dancing skills were increasing at a dramatic rate with the help of Mumble. The majority of the time, she could keep up with Mumble regardless of the speed of the rhythm. In parties, Arpheus was usually the lead dancer, who usually set the tone and rhythm for a song and, along with the singer, created the choreography. Every-day, Aaron would show up to walk with Jake and her to school and then she got to talk to him for most of the school day, since she is right next to him. There was one thing Arpheus still refused to do and that was to sing. Every-time, she was about to try to sing she would get flashbacks of her father berating her with insults. Arpheus has refused to explain the relationship between her and her father in detail to anyone so far. Arpheus spent these months with her family friends, whether in school or at home. Alexandria came around about every 2 days; Arpheus always looked forward to her visits. Alexandria quickly became adored by other penguins as she had a great sense of humor and a warm personality. The future for Arpheus looked to be a very bright and happy one.

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**So now you know how Arpheus' life began with some of the main characters. Hope you enjoyed :).  
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	3. The Day Before Graduation

**Finally it's done! I'm sorry if the his chapter seemed rushed(Especially at the end), but I tired my best to finish. As you can see, there was just a lot to write about and not enough time, so I had to cut down on some of the details. Please excuse any grammatical errors, its 2:00 am and I just finished. Hope you guys enjoy ;)**

* * *

Arpheus and her friends had all outgrown most of their feathers. Arpheus had become a beautiful female emperor penguin, who was just about Gloria's height. Her blue and gold feathers grew perfectly into her slim body type. Her eyes were still the same as ever, if not more pronounced. Aaron was just a bit taller than Arpheus. He was growing to be an incredibly handsome penguin, which really didn't help the girl problem he has had since his chick-hood. A lot of girls would whisper about him being their mate, but a few in particular was obsessed with him. One of these penguins was Eileen; she was always trying to get his attention, but Aaron has learned to ignore them over these past months. Aaron was now a great fantastic dancer and singer, in fact most of the time he would dance his own choreography instead of having another penguin lead the dancers. He has only let Arpheus or Mumble lead dancers in the songs he sang. It was almost time for graduation and Arpheus was extremely excited for a couple of reasons. The first one being the obvious, she got to graduate! The second one being that her mother promised to be there at graduation. Alexandria told Arpheus that she had a surprise in store, so Arpheus was really excited to see what it was. One thing she was kind of sad about was the fact that Syrena was gone. After that whole incident with Syrena, Arpheus really wished she was here to graduate.

It was a rather bright morning for Arpheus. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open and, when she did manage to keep them open, she would have to squint her eyes. She groggily walked along the icy walls to got to the main room, where Mumble, Gloria, and Jake probably were. Arpheus quickly remembered that there was only two days left until graduation. She immediately woke up and ran to the main room. When she turned the corner, she slipped and was now sliding on the ice. She managed to trip Jake and he fell on top of her by accident.

"Watch where you're going Arpheus!" Jake said.

"Geez, when did you get so heavy. You should really cut down." Arpheus joked as she tried to push him off of her.

"Oh well I guess I'm not moving." Jake said.

Arpheus knew she wasn't strong enough to move Jake off of her, so she was forced to make a compromise.

"Okay Jake, what do you want?" Arpheus asked.

"I want you to apologize-"

"I'm sorry, there now please get off of me!" Arpheus said as she struggled under him.

"And I want you to admit that I'm better than you." Jake finished.

"What?! No way." Arpheus said.

"Well I guess you're staying down there." Jake said.

"Ma! Pa!" Arpheus called.

"They're not here right now." Jake said.

"Okay fine I'll admit it." Arpheus said. She took a deep breath.

"Well I'm waiting." Jake said.

"You're-Pa! Please tell him to get off me!" Arpheus said as she saw him walk in.

Mumble sighed. "Jake please get off your sister." Mumble said.

"Aww, but-"

"Jake please. There are a lot of things to be done before graduation." Mumble said.

"Okay pa. Are you okay?" Jake asked.

"Yeah just a little tired that's all." Mumble said. "If you chicks don't hurry you might be late for classes though." Mumble said as began to walk out again.

"Aww pa! We're not chicks anymore." Arpheus whined.

"Yeah what she said." Jake said.

Mumble turned his head a bit to get a look at them, since he was facing away from them. "You'll always be my little chicks." Mumble teased with a smile. He turned back around to see Aaron heading this way. "Hey Aaron." Mumble greeted.

"Hi Mumble." Aaron greeted with his usual smile.

As Mumble left, Aaron came in.

"What's up Aaron?" Jake greeted.

"Hey Aaron!" Arpheus greeted.

"Hey sorry for being late, but we should really get going." Aaron said.

"Wait, but-" Arpheus was cut off.

"Not buts!" Aaron said as grabbed her ans started dragging her away.

Arpheus struggled and protested, but to no avail.

"You know...you're the meanest penguin." Arpheus said.

"I aim to please." Aaron said with a smile as he let go of her.

The three chicks shared a laugh as they were walking towards their small school. The three young penguins rushed in and quickly made their way to their respective spots. They had made it just in time.

"Good morning all." Mrs. Viola greeted.

"Good morning Mrs. Viola." The class said at the same time.

"Well as you should know, graduation is in two days." Mrs. Viola said. "But tomorrow we're going to have a showcase that will consist of one lucky singer and dancer, who will represent our class." Mrs. Viola explained.

The class began murmuring among themselves.

"We will choose these two lucky penguins by a matter of a class wide census, so just raise your flipper when the penguin's name, whom you think should be in the talent show is said." Mrs. Viola explained. "Now I need you to give me names of penguins who you think should be representing the class."

The class started buzzing with whispers.

"Kourtney!." A male voice shouted out.

"Okay, anyone else?" Mrs. Viola asked.

"Aaron!" Several female voices shouted.

"Arpheus!" Jake and Gab shouted.

Arpheus turned to look at them with wide eyes. They had respective smirks on their beaks. She then got an idea. She poked Aaron, who was next to her, and whispered something to him.

"Jake and Gabriel." The two penguins said simultaneously.

"Alright." Mrs. Viola confirmed.

Arpheus looked back at them with a smirk of her own. She giggled when she saw their beaks drop.

"Eileen!" A large group shouted.

Arpheus rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Christie!" Another group of penguins shouted.

The class then settled down.

"Okay, so the seven candidates are Kourtney, Aaron, Arpheus, Jake, Gabriel, Eileen, and Christie." Mrs. Viola said. "Okay now raise your flipper, when the name of the penguin that you want singing is called." Mrs. Viola explained.

"Kourtney."

Some flippers went up.

"Aaron."

The majority of the females raised their flippers, while giggling. Arpheus had her flipper raised as well. Some male penguins also raised their flippers in support of this choice.

"Arpheus."

Everyone knew Arpheus refused to sing, so most penguins didn't bother to raise their flippers. Aaron, on the other hand, had his flipper raised.

"Jake."

A decent amount of flippers were raised, but not as much as the last two.

"Gabriel."

About the same amount of flippers were raised.

"Eileen."

Not many flippers were raised to Arpheus' surprise.

"Christie."

A few raised their flippers.

It was obvious to everyone that Aaron had gotten the most support and, frankly, no one was really surprised. He was a great singer and dancer, not to mention a very humble penguin.

"Okay well it looks like Aaron will be our lead singer." Mrs. Viola announced. "Okay on to our lead dancer." Mrs. Viola said.

"Kourtney."

A surprising amount of flippers went up.

"Arpheus."

A great amount of flippers went up in the air. Arpheus recognized a lot of the penguins that were supporting her and some were just unexpected. Almost half of the class.

"Jake."

Very few flippers were raised.

"Gabriel."

About the same as Jake.

"Eileen."

Due to her popularity, a bunch of penguins had their flippers raised for her. Arpheus didn't quite understand why people didn't vote her to be the singer, but now she saw it was to perform with Aaron. Arpheus turned to look at her with suspicious eyes and she got a smug look as a response.

"Christie.

The few that had not voted raised their flippers.

"Okay, this is one was a very close one. Our lead dancer is...Eileen." Mrs. Viola said.

"What?!" Kourtney shouted.

"Mrs. Viola Arpheus is clearly the better dancer, she deserves to be the lead dancer." Jake said.

"The class chose Eileen to be the lead dancer, so it will stay that way." Mrs. Viola explained.

"Besides she can't represent our class. Only the best can." Eileen said with a smug look. "She would only drag Aaron down anyway." Eileen said.

"Eileen that is enough from you! We do not tolerate such insults." Mrs. Viola said in an icy tone.

Aaron was not particularly happy with the arrangement. He thought Arpheus would have been the lead dancer a landslide. He looked next to him to see Arpheus looking at some random spot.

"Arpheus don't listen to her. I thought you were gonna win for sure. " Aaron said.

Arpheus snapped out of her trance. "Yeah...That's okay though. I'm sure you two will do great." Arpheus said.

"I think you and I would've been amazing though." Aaron said with a smile.

"You think so?" Arpheus asked.

"Yeah of course I do." Aaron answered.

Arpheus was lost in her thoughts yet again.

"Alright class settle down!" Mrs. Viola said. "The lead dancer and singer must see me after classes are over.

The rest of the day went by smoothly as always. Jake, Arpheus, Kourtney, and Syrena were waiting for Aaron outside. Aaron came out with somewhat frustrated expression.

"Sorry guys, I can't go with you today." Aaron said.

"But why?" Arpheus asked.

"Apparently I have to stay and practice the song with Eileen and..." Aaron said the rest in inaudible mumbles.

"What?" Jake asked.

"Never-mind, but I gotta go." Aaron said as he walked back into the small school.

"I wonder what's got him so down." Kourtney said.

"Yeah he hasn't been himself lately." Jake said. "Well we better get going." Jake said.

The group then started walking towards Arpheus' home. Arpheus walked in silence the whole way; she was thinking about Aaron. Like the others, Arpheus had also noticed Aaron's sudden change in the last few days. It seemed like he was kind of avoiding her outside of classes. He just hasn't been nearly spending as much time with her as he usually does. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

"Hey guys!" Erik shouted.

"Erik!" Arpheus said as she went up to him and gave him a hug.

"Is my little sister excited to graduate?" Erik asked teasingly.

"I'm not that little anymore you know." Arpheus retorted. Arpheus looked around. "Where's Bo?" Arpheus asked.

"Oh she's a bit-" Erik was cut off.

Just then Bo made her appearance with a backwards somersault.

"I'm here!" Bo said.

Arpheus immediately gave Bo a hug as a greeting.

"Well hello to you too Arpheus." Bo said.

"Wait Bo how did you get here so fast?" Erik asked.

"Umm...I might have taken a shortcut." Bo said innocently.

"It wouldn't happen to be 'that' shortcut would it?" Erik asked.

"Maybe." Bo said playfully with a wink.

Erik sighed and then chuckled.

"Where's ma?" Jake asked.

"She's inside along with pa." Erik said as he gestured the group to follow him in.

Arpheus and the group followed Erik and Bo inside. They immediately found Mumble and Gloria, who were talking about something. Mumble and Gloria proceeded to greet the group.

"Hey Arpheus, your mom came by today." Gloria said.

"She did? Where is she?" Arpheus asked.

"She was in a hurry, but she did tell me that she was coming by tomorrow." Gloria said.

"Why is she coming by tomorrow?" Arpheus asked. Its not that she didn't want her mother here, but usually she would be busy.

"She's staying here tomorrow, so she can watch you graduate." Gloria said with a smile.

Arpheus' eyes immediately lit up with joy. "Really?!" Arpheus shouted.

"Yep." Gloria answered.

Arpheus was so happy she tackled Gloria into a hug. Warm tears of happiness were streaming down her eyes. "Thank you." Arpheus whispered.

"What are you thanking me for?" Gloria asked with a chuckle.

"For everything." Arpheus answered.

Gloria immediately picked on what she meant and returned her hug. She was caressing her back with her flipper in a gentle manner. Gloria then lifted Arpheus' face up and, with a warm smile, wiped off the tears in her eyes.

"She's so proud of you Arpheus. We all are." Gloria said.

"You really have come so far. I remember when I found you." Mumble said as he approached her.

Arpheus let go of Gloria and gave Mumble a hug as well.

"Now come on we have things to prepare." Mumble said.

Arpheus nodded and let go of him. Mumble, Gloria, Bo, and Erik were walking out of the cave.

Mumble turned around. "Actually do you guys want to help us?" Mumble asked.

"Help you with what?" Kourtney asked.

"Fishing." Bo answered.

"Fishing?" Arpheus said confused.

"Yeah we're collecting fish for we're throwing before graduation." Bo answered.

"But we don't know how to swim." Syrena pointed out.

"Well you wanna learn how?" Erik asked.

No more further answers were needed as the four young penguins immediately ran outside. On the way to the shore they picked up Age,Hayley,Nicki, and Seymour as they finally reached the shore, the young penguins were hesitant to jump in the water.

"Are you sure its safe?" Gab asked.

"Of course it is! Come on in." Erik answered.

"But what if I can't swim?" Kourtney asked.

"Honey we'll show you how to swim. Trust me its safe." Nicki said.

"I don't know..." Jake said.

Arpheus looked at the water and approached it. She didn't understand what was so unsafe about it, so she dipped her foot in to see what all the fuzz was about. She looked at Mumble, who was gesturing her to come in. Arpheus dived into the water and, instinctively, began swimming. She saw how beautiful it was under the water and took a moment to appreciate it. Arpheus then came up to the surface.

"What are you waiting for? The water feels great!" Arpheus said as she dove in and started swimming around.

The rest of the group looked at each other and jumped in at the same time. All of them got the hang of swimming very fast. The penguins all got together underwater to discuss fishing.

"Woah its amazing down here!" Jake said.

"It sure is." Hayley said.

Mumble spotted a school of fish that was coming towards them.

"Okay this is where the lesson begins." Mumble said as he began swimming towards the fish. When Mumble got close enough the fish immediately spread out in different directions. Mumble took and caught one with his beak. He swam back towards the group. "And that is how you catch a fish." Mumble said in muffled voice, since he was holding the fish with his beak.

"That doesn't look too hard." Arpheus said.

"Well then go try it!" Mumble said.

All four young penguins spread out to find their own fish. After a while, all of them came back to the same spot. None of them had fish.

"Its not as easy as it looks I guess." Arpheus said sheepishly.

"You just have to get the hang of it." Age said.

"Once you do its really not hard at all." Hayley said.

"I'm ready to go again!" Jake said.

As soon as he said that, Arpheus spotted a large group of fish. She immediately took off towards the group to try and secure one. The fish immediately spread out, but Arpheus already had her sights set on one. She was falling behind though. Arpheus was losing speed very quickly as she tried to go faster.

"Arpheus just relax! Swimming is kind of like...dancing! Find your rhythm!" Mumble shouted.

Arpheus didn't know what he meant at first, but after relaxing and seeing that she was gaining on the fish little by little; she realized what he meant. Instead of jus trying to swim as fast as she could in reckless movements, Arpheus slowed down and found a beat. She started swimming in rhythmic smooth motions and felt the difference in speed. She immediately caught up to the fish and caught it in her beak. Arpheus turned around and swam towards them.

"Wow Arpheus good job!" Jake said.

"Yeah you really got the hang of it." Mumble said.

Arpheus swallowed the fish.

"Thanks! I just found my rhythm." Arpheus said with a smile.

"Wow that was pretty impressive, its gonna be hard to beat that guys." Erik said.

"I'll beat her!" Jake said with confidence.

"No way, its my turn to get a fish." Gab said.

"Ladies first boys." Kourtney said as she swam past both of them.

The rest of the swim went by very well. After everyone of the young penguins learned to catch a fish, they had a competition of who could catch the most fish. At the end of the day, Mumble won by a couple of fish with Age close behind him. Everyone caught plenty of fish, so they had an extravagant amount. It took a few trips, but they got all the fish back to Mumble's home and stacked them there. By now the sun had almost set.

"We better get going." Age said.

"Yeah we're going to need all the rest we can get for tomorrow." Hayley said.

"We should do the same." Erik said

"Why do we have to go so soon?" Gab asked.

"Because tomorrow is a big day for our little penguins." Bo said.

"Maaaa!" Gab whined.

They all shared a laugh.

They all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

"Well we should get some rest for tomorrow." Mumble said.

"Now?!" Jake asked.

"Yes." Mumble answered.

"Why?" Jake whined.

"Jake we're all going to need all the rest we can get tomorrow. It's a big day for you and Arpheus." Gloria explained.

"Okay." Jake said in a defeated tone.

"Okay, good night!" Arpheus said.

"Good night." Mumble said.

The penguin family went to get some much needed rest. Everyone was excited was excited for tomorrow, especially Arpheus. This is going to be the first time, in a long time, that Arpheus would be able to spend an extended amount of time with her mother. She couldn't wait to show her how she's changed and introduce her mother to her new friends. Despite being so excited for graduation and her mother, Aaron was the only thing on her mind right now. She's been worries about Aaron ever-since he started acting up. It seems like in school he was his normal-self, but outside of school he was acting too distant from her. They used to spend so much time together talking and joking, but now they don't. Arpheus worried about it, because she couldn't imagine Aaron not being her friend anymore. She would do anything to stop that from happening. Even after all this time, Arpheus still got that warm feeling when she thought about Aaron. At first, she thought it was just her shyness, but lately she has discovered its something way beyond that.

Morning came quickly for Arpheus. She didn't groggy in the least. Arpheus jumped out of her slumber and made a dash for the main room, in which no one was at the time. It was surprising, because Arpheus was not the one to wake up early. The first one up was usually Gloria.

"Honey what are you doing up so early?" Gloria asked as she came into the main room.

"I don't know. I just woke up I guess." Arpheus said.

"You gotta be excited right?" Gloria said as she went to get some fish.

"Of course I am!" Arpheus said in a cheery tone with a smile. That smile quickly turned into a frown though.

"Is everything alright?" Gloria asked. She noticed the sudden change in attitude.

"Its just Aaron..." Arpheus said.

"What about Aaron?" Gloria asked with a fish on her beak.

"Well the last few days, he hasn't been himself. I think he's avoiding me. It seems like when we're in school everything is fine, but outside of school we just never spend time together anymore." Arpheus said.

Gloria offered her the fish, which she gladly took and ate. "Did you ask him about it?" Gloria asked as she went back to get another fish.

"Well I did once, but he just said that he's busy." Arpheus said. "Maybe I'm just-"

"Arpheus it probably has nothing to do with you. I know Aaron and he's not the kind of penguin to avoid you like that. He probably has a good reason." Gloria explained.

Yeah...But I just wish he would tell me, so I could help." Arpheus said in a depressed voice. "Ma what's love?" Arpheus suddenly asked.

Gloria paused for a moment and swallowed her fish. "Why do you ask?" Gloria asked.

"I just...want to know. You love pa right?" Arpheus asked.

"I love Mumble with all my heart." Gloria answered.

"And how does that feel?" Arpheus asked with a shy tone.

"When I'm with Mumble, I feel like I can do anything. Its just this comforting feeling inside that together we could get through any obstacle that presents itself. I guess I could describe as a warm feeling inside, when I think about him. Arpheus when you find love, you just know." Gloria explained.

Arpheus got a big smile all of a sudden.

"Do you-" Gloria was cut off by the sound of footsteps.

"Good morning pa!" Arpheus said.

Mumble looked at her with a confused face. "Arpheus what are you doing up so early?" Mumble asked with a small chuckle.

Arpheus just shrugged her shoulders.

"Well as long as you're awake, I want to show you something." Mumble said as he gestured for her to follow him. "Gloria do you want come along?" Mumble asked.

"No its okay." Gloria said.

"Aww come on it'll be fun." Mumble said.

"Mumble I-" Gloria was cutoff by the feeling of Mumble's flipper grasping her own.

"Come on honey, I promise you won't regret it." Mumble whispered.

"Okay." Gloria said in trance like voice.

The three penguins went out of the cave and took a short walk to nearby shore. The same shore Arpheus learned how to swim in. It was still dark outside and Mumble seemed to be looking off into nowhere.

"Pa what is it you wanted to show me?" Arpheus asked.

"Wait for it Arpheus." Mumble said as he kept looking onto the horizon.

Arpheus tried to look where Mumble was looking, but she still saw nothing. "What are you looking at pa?" Arpheus asked.

"Be patient Arpheus." Mumble said.

Arpheus continued looking off into the horizon. She saw a small glint of light peeking over the horizon. As she time passed, Arpheus noticed the light grew and expanded. It had pink and an orange tint t its color. The way it reflected off of the water was mesmerizing to Arpheus.

"Wow its so beautiful..." Arpheus said with a voice full of awe.

"It really is." Gloria said as she looked into Mumble's deep blue eyes. She laid her head on his shoulder.

Arpheus took her attention away from the sunrise and looked at Mumble and Gloria. They seemed so at peace with each other, it was something she longed for. The three penguins watched the sunrise together in each others' flippers. They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of a scream and a splash. The sounds were too weren't too far away from them. There was another splash and this time, they saw a body being flung out of the water. The body hit the ice with a sickening thud. Mumble and Gloria immediately started waddling towards the seemingly immobile body. Arpheus hesitated a bit, but was close behind them. Mumble and Gloria suddenly stopped, which made Arpheus bump into them.

"What's wrong?" Arpheus asked. She then saw two leopard seals out of the water. The leopard seals were obviously looking for the body.  
"We have to help!" Arpheus said in urgent tone.

"Okay here's what we'll do. I'm going to distract the leopard seals and you two will go and help that penguin." Mumble said.

"But how are you going to distract the leopard seals." Arpheus asked.

"The only way I can." Mumble said in a low voice.

"No Mumble, there has to be another way." Gloria said.

"Gloria I-" Mumble was cut off.

"Mumble please don't." Gloria pleaded.

"Gloria its okay I've done this before." Mumble said.

"Not with two leopard seals!" Gloria pointed out. "I just don't want to lose you." Gloria said.

Mumble and Gloria then heard a splash of water right behind them. They immediately turned around to find that Arpheus wasn't there anymore.

"Arpheus! No you can't do this!" Mumble shouted.

"Arpheus!" Gloria called.

Their shouts were in vain, since Arpheus was now underwater. Mumble and Gloria heard the leopard seals scream something and saw them dive into the water.

"Mumble we have to help that penguin." Gloria said.

"But what about Arpheus?!" Mumble asked in a panicked tone.

"She's doing this, so that we can help that penguin. She's not little anymore Mumble." Gloria explained. Gloria was terribly worried about Arpheus, but she knew Arpheus had made her choice.

"Okay let's go." Mumble said.

Mumble and Gloria quickly made their way to the penguin. Mumble flipped the body, since they had to move him/her out of the area. When Mumble saw the penguin's face, a tear immediately made its way out of his ocean deep blue eyes.

Arpheus was currently having a hard time shaking the leopard sela off of her tail. She tried several things, such as turning sharply, to shake them off, but they were slowly gaining on her. Arpheus felt something sharp on her left foot, which she immediately retracted. She knew things were not looking good for her.

"What's wrong little girl. Can't you swim any faster?" One of the leopard seals taunted.

Arpheus looked back to see how close they were to her. She saw that they had caught up to her already; they were merely playing around with her at this point. Arpheus stopped swimming. The only thing she could do right now was hope for a miracle. Arpheus then saw what looked like two streams of water heading towards her. The seals couldn't see it, because it was behind them. The streams suddenly came in between Arpheus and the leopard seals. Arpheus immediately identified them.

"Hey stupid! Bet you can't catch me." Erik said, while slapping his tail.

"Oh an adult penguin. Well don't mind if I do." One the leopard seals said. Both of the leopard seals lunged and started chasing Erik, who swam away quickly.

"Arpheus are you okay?" Age asked as he turned around to look at her.

"Then c'mon! Let's go!" Age said.

That snapped Arpheus out of her shock and both penguins swam to shore at breakneck speeds. They quickly jumped out of the water and onto the ice.

"What about Erik!?" Arpheus asked.

Before Age could answer, both penguins heard a splash behind them. "I'm fine! Now let's go!. Erik shouted.

The three penguins waddled as fast as they could for a while. Arpheus was tired from all the swimming, so they had to stop and let her catch her breath.

"Thank you." Arpheus said breathlessly.

"For what?" Age asked.

"For coming to save me." Arpheus said.

"What are brothers for." Erik said with a smile.

"You were really brave today Arpheus." Age said.

"Yeah you were, but do you know how worried pa and ma were?!" Erik asked in strict tone.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Arpheus said.

"What you did was completely reckless, but...in this family we all do stuff like that." Erik said with a smile. " Just next time, be a little more careful." Erik said.

"Okay I promise I will." Arpheus said.

Arpheus looked at them with a smile of her own. They shared a chuckle as they walked home. It wasn't a long walk, so they got home fairly quickly. When Arpheus got home, Gloria embraced her immediately.

"Thank guin you're okay." Gloria said with tears streaming down her eyes.

"I didn't mean to worry you like that. I-I'm sorry." Arpheus said.

"Its okay. I should really be used to it by now though." Gloria said with a small chuckle. "With you, Mumble, Erik, and Age that is." Gloria explained.

The two penguins that were mentioned were had innocent smiles on their beaks. They all shared a laugh.

"So how is the penguin doing?" Arpheus asked.

Gloria's smile immediately turned into a frown and downcast expression. "I...think you should see for yourself." Gloria said ash she gestured for Arpheus to follow her.

Arpheus didn't say anything more and followed her. They went into the cave and into the main room. The unknown penguin was laid down on the ice and Mumble was standing right next to him/her. When Mumble saw Arpheus, he went up and hugged her.

"Did you get hurt Arpheus?" Mumble asked.

"No I'm okay pa." Arpheus said. "But what about that penguin?" Arpheus asked.

Mumble let go of her and looked at her with pure sadness in his eyes. "Umm she's not doing very well..." Mumble said.

"She?" Arpheus asked. When she got no response, she went up to the unknown penguin to see what had happened. To Arpheus, the sight was quite horrifying. Her feathers were all messed up, blood was splattered all over her mid body. She was filled with cuts and bruises, even some deep gashes on her hip. One of her fins was bent the wrong way and to top it all off, her beak was leaking blood. When Arpheus saw the female penguin's face, her blood ran cold. Here was her mother, on the bloody ice and seemingly lifeless. Arpheus beyond shock, too many thoughts running through her mind and too many emotions running through her body.

"M-Ma-a?" Arpheus said in a broken voice.

"MAA!" Arpheus cried out. Everything was now pouring out. Her tears staining her feathers and the ice below her. Her beautiful eyes distorted. Her will broken. She just wept over and over again. Arpheus wanted to run away, but found that she couldn't.

"Arpheus." Alexandria called with a weak voice.

"M-Ma? Arpheus said as she lowered her head down to her mother.

"I'm sorry." Alexandria whispered.

"N-no w-why are y-you sorry?" Arpheus said. She was breathing in quick and random breaths.

"For not being there for you." Alexandria replied.

"W-What? Ma you'll be fine I promise." Arpheus tried to assure.

"You're so beautiful Arpheus. You've grown so much." Alexandria whispered, while caressing her daughter's face with her good flipper.

"Ma please don't say t-that." Arpheus pleaded.

"Arpheus honey, we both know what's going to happen." Alexandria said and coughed up some blood onto the ice she was lying.

Arpheus broke down into more tears.

"Arpheus I want you to look at me." Alexandria said.

Arpheus wiped her tears and opened her eyes to look at her mother.

"Your eyes are just so mesmerizing Arpheus." Alexandria commented. "I want you to promise me something Arpheus." Alexandria said. "I want you to keep enjoying life Arpheus. Keep living your life Arphe-" Alexandria coughed up more blood.

"I p-promise m-ma." Arpheus said

"Thank you. Mumble can you come over here please?" Alexandria asked.

"Of course." Mumble said.

Alexandria was whispering something to Mumble. Even though, Arpheus was close enough to hear them she was too caught up in her own thoughts. She just didn't know what to do at this point. A very scratchy and dry cough caught her attention as she saw her mother spill more blood onto the ice.

"Arpheus just remember something." Alexandria said. "Just remember that I love you and don't let anyone t-tell you d-differently..." Alexandria said as she started losing consciousness.

"M-Ma? Please don't go!" Arpheus pleaded.

Her pleads were in vain. Alexandria took her last breath and drifted off into that peaceful eternal slumber.

"Ma? Please talk to me! Ma!" Arpheus shouted as she shook her mother's flipper.

Gloria touched Arpheus' shoulder. "I'm sorry Arpheus." Gloria said in a broken voice. "There's just nothing we can do." Gloria added.

"Please I just want to be alone." Arpheus said in a low voice.

Gloria was about to say something, until Age put a flipper on her shoulder. "Ma its better that she spends some time alone." Age said.

Gloria didn't argue and went along with Age. All penguins left the the cave to let Arpheus have her moment alone.

Arpheus was still trying to process everything that had happened. She was completely in shock what she just saw happen. Arpheus was in a huge internal conflict; she didn't how to feel. She was furious, broken, and depressed. She wanted to deny everything that just she just witnesses; she just wished it was all a dream. Arpheus cried silently. Arpheus heard footsteps behind, but didn't bother turning around to see who it was.

"Please leave me alone." Arpheus pleaded.

"Arpheus I know its hard, what you're going through." Age said.

"How do you know?" Arpheus said in salty tone.

"I know, because I lost my family when I was young. I was just a chick, when it happened." Age said sorrowfully.

"You did?" Arpheus asked.

Age nodded.

"I just don't know what I'm going to do..." Arpheus said.

"If there is anything I learned from that is that you have to keep going. Not only for yourself, but for them as well Arpheus. Your mother, being the great penguin that she was, wouldn't want to see you like this. She wants you to be the best penguin you can be." Age said.

Arpheus turned and hugged her brother. She buried her face in his feathers and let everything out at that point; her frustration, her anger, her sadness, and her regret. Tears came pouring out of her eyes. She then felt more flippers wrap around her. Arpheus lifted her eye's to see, who it was. She was shocked to see Erik, Mumble, Gloria, Hayley, and Bo.

"We're all here for you Arpheus." Gloria said.

"Family is always there for each other." Bo said.

Arpheus couldn't help, but cry harder, not out of sadness necessarily. They all shed tears together as they all embraced each other. After a while, the family released each other from the embrace.

"Do you feel better?" Hayley asked.

"Y-Yeah." Arpheus said with a bit of hiccup. "Where's Jake?" Arpheus asked. She had completely forgotten about the showcase.

"He's with Mrs. Viola rehearsing the showcase." Mumble answered. He then realized what he said. "The showcase!" Mumble shouted.

"Oh no! How am I going to-" Arpheus was cut off.

"Don't worry about that. My mother will understand." Bo said with a wink. "But you still should participate." Bo added.

"I don't know..." Arpheus said unsure of herself.

"That's a great idea. Trust me some dancing will make you feel better." Age said.

"But I don't know the routine." Arpheus said.

"Just improvise." Erik said. "You're probably the best dancer there, so you'll be fine." Erik explained.

"Come on Arpheus what do you say?" Mumble said.

Arpheus remembered the promise she made to her mother. "Yeah let's go." Arpheus said.

They ran their as fast as they could. There was an immense crowd and Arpheus just hoped she wasn't too late. They made their way to the front, where they saw that they had made in the nick of time. Mrs. Viola was still talking to the class.

"Arpheus follow me quick." Bo said.

The two female penguins made their way down a small hill and to Mrs. Viola.

"Arpheus where have you been?" Mrs. Viola asked. "Bo?" Mrs. Viola said in a confused tone.

"Ma I need to talk to you." Bo said.

"I'm busy right now." Mrs. Viola said.

"Its about Arpheus." Bo said.

Mrs. Viola sighed. "Alright." Mrs. Viola said. She eyed Arpheus before following Bo.

Arpheus was a little bit lost. She had no idea what was going on, so she just stood where she was. She was just looking around, when she spotted Jake, who was waddling towards her.

"Arpheus where have you been!?" Jake asked.

"Its a long story, but what am I supposed to be doing?" Arpheus asked.

"Well you were supposed to be the lead dancer, but I don't know now." Jake said.

"Wait I thought Eileen was the dancer." Arpheus said in a confused tone.

"Yeah there was a slight change. The song was apparently to fast for Eileen to handle, so now she will be doing a duet with Aaron instead." Jake explained.  
"And since you were the second choice for lead dancer, Mrs. Viola announced you as the dancer." Jake said.

Arpheus didn't have time to think about what Jake just said, because Mrs. Viola and Bo were approaching them.

"Arpheus I'm sorry, but you can't perform." Mrs. Viola said. "You just don't know the routine. I wish I could let you dance, but I can't. Mrs. Viola explained.

"But why can't you? You know I can do it." Arpheus said.

"Apparently this is some stupid tradition now." Bo said bitterly.

"Boadicea!" Mrs. Viola said sternly.

Bo just rolled her eyes.

"Its okay I understand." Arpheus said. She knew she would have just dragged the class down.

Arpheus followed Bo back to where the rest of the family was on the sidelines. She was so close to where the show case was going to be performed, she might as well have been in it. Everyone suddenly quieted down as the tap dancers started setting a beat. _(Don't go breaking my heart- Kiki Dee and Elton John)_

**Aaron: **_Don't go breaking my heart_  
** Eileen:**_ I couldn't if I tried_  
** Aaron:**_ Honey, if I get restless..._  
**Eileen:**_ Baby, you're not that kind_

Arpheus couldn't listen any longer. For some reason, she couldn't stand seeing Eileen singing with Aaron. Especially, when Eileen kept throwing smirks her way. On top of that, she was all over Aaron throughout the song. Aaron and Eileen were dancing in the middle of the small area, while dancers and back up singers were a bit behind them.

** Aaron:**_ Don't go breaking my heart_  
**Eileen:**_ You take the weight off me_  
** Aaron:**_ Honey, when you knock on my door_  
** Eileen:**_ I gave you my key_

When Aaron sang the first line, he happened to look in Arpheus' direction. He was surprised to see her there and threw her a confused look. Arpheus just looked down in response. Aaron was snapped back into the song, when Eileen pulled him to her.

** Aaron & Eileen:**_ Nobody knows it_  
** Aaron:**_ When I was down_  
** Eileen:**_ I was your clown_  
** Aaron & Eileen:**_ Nobody knows it_  
** Aaron:**_ Right from the start_  
** Eileen:**_ I gave you my heart_  
_ I gave you my heart_

Flipper in flipper, Aaron and Eileen began dancing a normal paced routine. Arpheus lifted her face to see them dancing together like a couple. It literally broke her. Tears slid down her eyes slowly and quietly. When Aaron got a second look at her over Eileen's shoulder, his heart stopped. He knew something was wrong. He let go of Eileen and didn't sing the last line of the verse.

"Stop." Aaron told the dancers. The dancers kept tapping though. "Hey! What don't you get about stop!" He shouted at the dancers.

"Aaron what's-" Eileen was cut off.

"This isn't right. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't feel right." Aaron said. "Arpheus." Aaron called.

Arpheus was so shocked she couldn't move.

"Aaron are you serious?! What can she do?" Eileen asked in a bewildered tone.

Aaron just shot her a glare and started tapping a rhythm. He wasn't the best dancer, but Arpheus and Mumble had taught him some tricks. _(Let me love you - Ne Yo)_

**Aaron:**_ Much as you blame yourself, you can't be blamed for the way you feel_  
_Had no example of a love, that was even remotely real_  
_How can you understand something that you never had_  
_Ooh baby if you let me, I can help you out with all of that_

Aaron was clearly dedicating the song to Arpheus. As he was singing and dancing, he was also often gesturing to her with his flipper. Arpheus was just looking at him with wide eyes._  
_

**Aaron:**_ Girl let me love you_  
_And I will love you_  
_Until you learn to love yourself_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_And all your trouble_  
_Don't be afraid, girl let me help_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_And I will love you_  
_Until you learn to love yourself_  
_Girl let me love you  
A heart of numbness, gets brought to life_  
_I'll take you there_

Aaron hit the beat hard and switched to normal paced hip hop routine. He raised his voice to a higher pitch and volume. He noticed that he had attracted a few back up dancers from his class, so he let them continue with the beat. He mainly focused on singing and his hip hop choreography. No one, not even Aaron, knew what they were doing. Aaron was just singing the song that came him. Aaron held the last line for a while and then sped up the beat. The back up dancers followed suit._  
_

**Aaron:**_ Girl let me love you_  
_Girl let me love you baby, oh_  
_Girl let me love yo_  
_Girl let me love you baby_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_Let me love you, let me love you, oh_

With the new speed, Aaron switched to a fast paced hip hop routine in which the back up dancers would assist him with. Aaron looked back slightly to see if the back up dancers were following him, which they were. Aaron suddenly stopped dancing and the backup dancers, thanks to their previous experience, immediately slowed down the beat._  
_

**Aaron:**_ I can see the pain behind your eyes_  
_It's been there for quite a while_

Aaron made his way towards Arpheus. At the end of the last line, he was right in front of her looking down into her beautiful eyes._  
_

**Aaron:**_ I just wanna be the one to remind what it is to smile_  
_I would like to show you what true love can really do_

Aaron wiped the tears off of her eyes and took her flipper in his. He tugged at it a bit signaling her to come with him. She slowly stepped out with him, but quickly found herself being pulled and spun. She ended up falling into Aaron's arms as he was singing the last line. Arpheus looked into his golden brown eyes and immediately forgot everything she had been worrying about. Aaron spun her out of it and let go of her._  
_

**Aaron:**_ Girl let me love you_  
_And I will love you_  
_Until you learn to love yoursel_f  
_Girl let me love you_  
_And all your trouble_

Aaron slid back to his original position and Arpheus followed suit. They were now dancing next to each other as the back up dancers followed their moves. Arpheus suddenly had the unbearable urge to sing._  
_

**Aaron: **_Don't be afraid, girl let me help_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_And I will love you_  
_Until you learn to love yourself_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_A heart of numbness, gets brought to life_  
_I'll take you there_

Aaron took both of her flippers this time and pulled her close to him. Arpheus knew what to do. The two penguins were now dancing in the very middle of the colony without a care in the world._  
_

**Aaron:**_ Girl let me love you baby_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_Let me love you, let me love you baby_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_Girl let me love you baby_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_Let me love you, girl let me love you baby_

Both penguins slid to their original positions, which was slightly in front of the back up singers. As he was holding the last line, Aaron went out to the middle and turned around to face Arpheus. The backup dancers backed off completely and now only Arpheus was creating the beat._  
_

** Aaron:**_ For every heart that beats_  
_For every heart that beats_  
_For every heart that beats, heart that beats..._

Arpheus was following Aaron's beat. As Aaron progressed through the lines, the beat got faster and faster. It got to the point, where Aaron couldn't keep up anymore, but Arpheus was still going. As Aaron sang the last line, Arpheus' feet looked like blurs, while she was tapping._  
_

**Aaron:**_ Girl let me love you_  
_And I will love you_  
_Until you learn to love yourself_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_And all your trouble_  
_Don't be afraid, girl let me help_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_And I will love you_  
_Until you learn to love yourself_  
_Girl let me love you_  
_A heart of numbness, gets brought to life_  
_I'll take you there_

The backup dancers jumped back and the beat slowed down to its normal pace again. Aaron didn't go back next to Arpheus, instead he stayed facing her as he got progressively closer. Aaron completely stopped dancing as he sang the last three lines. He took hold of one of her flippers and looked into her beautiful eyes as he sang to her the last line._  
_

Everyone went ballistic. The crowd was cheering and clapping. To Arpheus and Aaron, though, it was like no one was there. Arpheus then did something very unexpected. She reached out and kissed Aaron. Aaron was shocked, but returned it. The kiss didn't last long though.

"Aaron! I told you to stay away from her!" A shrill voice screamed from the crowd. The crows immediately quieted down.

Aaron quickly turned around to see Stefan and Julie quickly making their way through the crowd and approaching them.

"Aaron I remember specifically telling you t stay away from her." Stefan said in a cold voice.

"But pa...I lo-" Aaron was cut off.

"Don't you dare even say it! You can't love 'that'." Julie said as she pointed at Arpheus.

"Hey! You better take that back Julie!" Bo said as she came to Arpheus' help. The rest of the family was just behind her including Jake, Gabriel, and Kourtney.

Arpheus didn't understand what was going on, but when Julie called her by that label the pieces feel together. She looked at Arpheus with sadness in her eyes.

"So this is why..." Arpheus whispered.

"No Arpheus this isn't what you think." Aaron said quickly.

"This is why you've been avoiding me..." Arpheus whispered.

"I...I'm sorry." Aaron said in a defeated tone. He turned around to face her. He turned back around to face his parents.

"Aaron we're leaving now!" Stefan said.

"Pa-." Aaron tried to protest, but was cut off again.

"I said now Aaron!" Stefan said.

"I-" Aaron tried again, but to no avail.

"Aaron listen to your father." Julie said.

"NO! You're going to listen to what I have to say!" Aaron screamed.

Stefan and Julie were shocked beyond belief. Aaron never talked back or shouted at them.

"I LOVE her! And nothing is going to change that! She is the joy in my life. When I'm with her I feel truly happy, as if nothing could go wrong." Aaron said as turned around to look at her.

To his disbelief, she wasn't there anymore. Arpheus had quietly sneaked out and ran away.

"No..." Aaron whispered. "How could you do this to me? Your own son?" Aaron asked.

"Good riddance. Let her go! We don't need freaks." Julie said.

"All my life I have respected you two. I've looked up to you and I never argued a single word you said. But now you've gone too far! She is not a freak, she is the most beautiful penguin in my eyes. The way she looks, talks, laughs, and even walks. Everything about her is so perfect." Aaron said. "Whether you like it or not, I'm going after her. I will do ANYTHING to bring her back, even at the risk of my own life." Aaron said in a cold voice. He was beyond furious at this point. With that last comment he dashed off into the crowd to try and find Arpheus.

Arpheus was already at the very edge of Emperor Land. Her eyes were puffy from all the tears she had shed today. Arpheus gave up on herself. She admitted to being a complete failure, whose only purpose seems to be to hold other penguins back. She was just a burden. Arpheus had exiled herself to prevent from dragging anyone else down with her. Arpheus reached the basin, where Mumble had first found her. Arpheus had not time to have a flashback though. She was ready to jump in and swim away.

"Arpheus!" Aaron called.

Arpheus was so surprised that, when she went to turn around she fell on her back. This gave Aaron the time he needed to catch up to her.

"Arpheus are you okay?" Aaron said as he helped her up.

"Why did you follow me?" Arpheus said as she turned away from him.

"Arpheus I love you and I always have." Aaron said. "I can say those words to you." Aaron added.

"Aaron can't you see I'm only dragging you down?" Arpheus asked in an static tone.

"You'll never drag me down Arpheus. You always inspire me to be better." Aaron said as grabbed one of her flippers. "Wherever you're going I'm coming with you." Aaron said.

"Please Aaron...don't." Arpheus said coldly. "All I've done for you is embarrass you at the showcase, make you fight with your parents, and now you're about to leave everything behind just to follow me." Arpheus said.

"You're all I need." Aaron whispered.

"Aaron you have a future over there! Are you really going to throw that away for me?" Arpheus asked.

"Yes." Aaron answered immediately.

"Aaron...I don't...l-love y-you." Arpheus said. She could barely get those words out.

Aaron was just shell-shocked. She might as well have pushed him off a cliff to his very death. He had no idea how to respond to that. His heart had just been shattered by the love of his life. "B-But-"Aaron choked up.

"I'm s-sorry." Arpheus said. "I'm sure you'll find someone better than m-me."

Arpheus wept a bit, turned around, and kissed Aaron once again. It was a deep loving kiss that lasted for quite a while. Aaron was completely lost in his bliss and confusion. Arpheus pulled away and quickly jumped into the basin. Aaron realized he had been tricked and went to go after her. She swam away as quickly as she could; she was not about to let Aaron throw away his life for heard a splash behind her, but she knew it was too late for him to follow her. She knew where she was going, while he had no idea. Arpheus knew it was going to a long trip to where she was going.

After hours of swimming, Arpheus finally saw ice ahead. She jumped out of the water and slid to a stop. Arpheus looked at the sky and saw that it was getting dark fast. She looked around and saw what looked like hills in the distance. She immediately headed towards them. As Arpheus was walking through the hills, she was feeling tired and completely broken. Her mother came into her thoughts and the song her mother used to sing to her came into her heart. She thought of Aaron next, then she opened her beak. _(Bridge of Light - P!nk)_

**Arpheus:**_ Just when you think _  
_Hope is lost _  
_And giving up _  
_Is all you got, _  
_Blue turns black, _  
_Your confidence is cracked, _  
_There seems no turning back from here _

Arpheus slowly got comfortable with her voice. She realized singing really was fun._  
_

**Arpheus:**_ Sometimes there isn't an obvious explanation _  
_Why the holiest hearts can feel the strongest palpitations _

Arpheus looked at the night filled sky. As she sang the last line, she started to see some multicolored lights streaking across the sky._  
_

**Arpheus:**_ That's when you can build a bridge of light, _  
_That's what turns the wrongs all right _  
_That's when you can't give up the fight_

Arpheus raised her voice effortlessly. She then saw a beautiful arrangement of multicolored lights appear in the sky. It was absolutely dazzling to her, it was as if the lights were dancing to the rhythm of her song. Her voice echoed throughout the hills._  
_

"Well, well, well. A pretty lady with a pretty voice." A male voice said.

Arpheus immediately stopped singing and turned around to face the unknown penguin.

"Umm thanks I guess." Arpheus said. "Who are you?" Arpheus asked.

"The name's Cloud. And who might you be?" Cloud asked in a sort of seductive tone.

"I-I'm Arpheus." Arpheus answered.

"Ahh a pretty name, a pretty voice, and pretty eyes." Cloud said.

Arpheus wasn't sure of what to say.

"Cloud stop bothering her!" A female voice shouted as she approached him.

"I wasn't bothering her! You're just jealous I like someone else." Cloud sneered.

"Yeah okay." Vasquez said with sarcasm. "So what's your name?" Vasquez asked.

"A-Arpheus."

"And what brings you here?" Vasquez asked.

"I'm just running away..." Arpheus said.

"Geez stop being so dramatic! It's not like your mother died!" Cloud said.

Arpheus immediately broke down into more tears, if she had any left. "Y-Yes s-she d-did. Earlier t-today." Arpheus cried out. She almost fell from the exhaustion she was feeling, but she caught herself.

Vasquez walked up to Arpheus and laid a flipper on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry that happened, but why did you run away? Vasquez asked. "You have beautiful eyes by the way." Vasquez commented.

Arpheus sniffled a bit and wiped the tears off of her eyes. "W-well I left, because I was just a burden to everyone. Aaron tried to follow me, but I lied to him and said I didn't love him." Arpheus explained in a depressed voice.

"Who's Aaron?" Cloud asked with a chuckle.

"The penguin that I love." Arpheus answered.

"So how were a burden? I heard your voice and, honestly, I haven't heard any other like it." Vasquez asked.

"Thanks, but I'm mainly a dancer." Arpheus said with a downcast attitude.

Vasquez looked at Arpheus with a shocked expression. "Really?! Tap dancing? Can you show me?" Vasquez asked.

"Why are we wasting our time like this?" Cloud asked.

"Don't listen to him. Just show me." Vasquez said.

"O-okay" Arpheus said.

Arpheus closed her eyes and tried to think of a song, but none would come up. She was just tired and there were too many thoughts in her mind. Arpheus then got an idea.

"T-This is the last song Aaron sang to me." Arpheus said.

She started tapping slowly and, not long after, sped up quite a bit. Vasquez was surprised that such a young penguin could dance so well. Arpheus then really hit it hard, when she started tapping the rhythm as fast as she could. She cut it short there.

"Wow...You have an amazing talent." Vasquez said.

"Thank you." Arpheus said.

"Are we done Vasquez?" Cloud asked as he looked at her with a bored expression.

Vasquez ignored Cloud. "Say Arpheus, do you have anywhere to go?" Vasquez asked.

"No not really." Arpheus said.

"Well how would you like to come with us?" Vasquez asked. She saw that Arpheus had a confused look on her face. "We are part of an elite group of performers and I think you would fit in well." Vasquez explained.

"I already told you I'm just a burden." Arpheus explained.

"Just try out for boss. I bet he'll like you." Vasquez said. "If boss let me join, he will definitely let you join!" Vasquez said with a smile. "Besides you need a home right now." Vasquez said with a comforting voice..

"Well I don't mind one more lady." Cloud said with a snicker.

Arpheus had nothing to lose at this point, so she agreed to go along with the two penguins. With a shattered heart, Arpheus left with the two penguins hoping to mend these old wounds.


End file.
